The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been defeated by the New Zealand Warriors in their round 5 clash at Accor Stadium.
It was an unhappy afternoon for Souths with the Warriors running in six tries to one, including a double to halfback Shaun Johnson, to finish off 34-4 victors over South Sydney, while fullback Latrell Mitchell also found himself on report twice.
The Rabbitohs were first to trouble the scorers, with a Jack Wighton tap-on releasing Izaac Tuitupou Thompson into space down the left wing.
With Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad to beat at the back, Tuitupou Thompson summed the play up perfectly with a beautiful left-foot step, leaving the Warriors fullback grasping at thin air.
An error from Souths in the ensuing set of six gifted the Warriors a perfect opportunity to hit back, and that’s exactly what they did, with Shaun Johnson putting Rocco Berry through a hole on the right side of the field, and kicking the conversion for a 6-4 lead.
The game then settled down into an arm wrestle. Both sides had their opportunities to score, however they were unable to capitalise, as errors and ill-discipline affected both sides’ ability to get into their rhythm in attack for most of the remainder of the half.
It was the Warriors though who were able to finish the half the stronger of the two sides, running in two quick tries in the last five minutes before halftime for an 18-4 lead at the break, thanks to some big involvements from halfback Johnson.
The Rabbitohs found themselves on the back foot early in the second stanza, with an error coming out of trouble putting the Warriors on the attack 10m out from the line.
Souths were able to repel the attack – but it wouldn’t be long before the Warriors cracked them again, with Johnson scoring his second of the match in the 47th minute off the back of some great work from Wade Egan out of dummy half.
The errors continued to compound for Souths, with the Warriors finding themselves on the attack once again at the hour mark of the contest.
The Rabbitohs were up against it in defence, as the Warriors threw plenty at them on their own line. It would ultimately prove too much to handle, with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck crossing in the corner for a try in his 200th NRL game.
The Warriors would then manage one final try, as five-eighth Te Marie Martin crossed after a big solo run in the 70th minute in what would be the last scoring play of the game.
Match Snapshot
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Souths drew first blood in the 5th minute with a nice try to returning winger Izaac Tuitupou Thompson
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The Warriors hit back quickly after an error from Souths, scoring through Rocco Berry who ran off a Shaun Johnson pass
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The Warriors broke a 25-minute stalemate to score through Jackson Ford off another Johnson pass
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Johnson scored untouched just minutes before halftime off the back of a Charnze Nicol-Klokstad line-break to put the Warriors ahead 18-4 at the break
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Johnson bagged his second of the match shortly after halftime
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Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored a try in the corner with an extremely tight put-down in his 200th NRL game
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Te Marie Martin crossed for the final try of the game in the 70th minute, to put the final score at 34 points to 4.
What’s Next?
For the third week in a row Souths will play host at Accor Stadium, this time against Sydney rivals the Cronulla Sharks.
