The Rabbitohs defeated the valiant Tigers 42–28 in a thrilling match in Gosford, maintaining their faint prospects of making the finals.
At the 60-minute point, the Tigers were leading 28-24 and had the potential to pull off an incredible shock. The game was very much in their hands.
But in the final twenty, it was all South Sydney. The Rabbitohs scored three tries to none, one of which came when Tigers half Aidan Sezer was sin-binned for a hip drop.
The game’s pivotal moment occurred in the 61st minute when Cody Walker scored his second goal of the contest, following a startling blunder by Tigers teen Luke Lahihii.
The game’s high point occurred when Benji Marshall’s team shocked everyone with a long-range try on the HT buzzer, covering 70 meters in a single play that Jahream Bula, the team’s standout fullback, started and finished.
After trailing 22–18 at the break, the Tigers lit up the sheds with two tries to take the lead back.
The Rabbitohs got off to a strong start earlier in the game, jumping out to a 10-0 lead.
Prop Davvy Moale scored the first goal for the Bunnies, running over fullback Jahream Bula.
Damien Cook missed the conversion attempt after the Moale try, making him the seventh Rabbitoh to attempt one this season—more than any other side in the NRL.
It’s important to remember that Cook played the majority of the game in the centers following Richard Kennar’s injury.
In the tenth minute, Cook would score on his second try following Walker’s cross, and things were dire for the Tigers.
That was before to the emergence of two of the Tigers’ bright future stars, when rookies Lachlan Galvin and Tallyn Da Silva scored back-to-back tries to give their team a 12-10 lead.
After some shrewd work by the hooker, Da Silva—filling in for the injured Api Koroisau—set up Galvin’s try and scored three minutes later.
After a deft ball from Taane Milne, the Rabbitohs scored their third try through Alex Johnston to regain the lead once again.
After Johnston scored his second to put his team ahead 22–12, Bula’s try in the 40th minute signaled that the second half would be competitive.
Given that Cook went 7/8 with the boot, he will probably take over goalkicking responsibilities until Latrell Mitchell recovers from his injury.
