Star recruit inspires Bunnies to first win as Dogs sweat on Addo-Carr

The Rabbitohs have secured their first win of the season with a 20-16 victory over the Bulldogs in a spirited Good Friday clash.

Marquee recruit Jack Wighton bagged a double — but will be nervously awaiting the charge sheet following what looked to be a hip-drop tackle in the first half.

And coach Jason Demetriou will be sweating on the availability of Alex Johnson after the star winger left the field late in the game with hamstring tightness.

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For the Bulldogs, it was the game that got away after they blew several opportunities in the second half.

They copped a big setback on the strike of half time when Josh Addo-Carr was knocked out after he copped the hip of Latrell Mitchell in a tackle and things got even harder when Kurtis Morrin was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.

After an inspired start from both sides it was the Rabbitohs who struck first with two tries in four minutes — one of which was scored by Wighton.

But the Bulldogs hit back after their star-studded left edge combined to set up Matt Burton.

They backed it up with a stunning piece of play in which former Rabbitoh Blake Taaffe put up a perfectly-weighted kick for Connor Tracey to score in the corner.

The momentum swung early in the second half when Wighton bagged his second of the night before the Rabbitohs added an extra four points with two penalty goals.

The Bulldogs set up a thrilling finish after Tracey crossed for his second in the 79th minute but it was too little, too late as Souths held on for an important win.

‘RELIEF’ FOR SOUTHS AS WIGHTON STARS IN MUCH-NEEDED WIN

Fox League expert Corey Parker summed it up best when he said Friday’s win was a “huge sigh of relief for the Rabbitohs.”

Sitting dead last on the table after an 0-3 start to the season, pressure was mounting on coach Jason Demetriou and his players.

But it was like the likes of skipper Cameron Murray and marquee recruit Jack Wighton that inspired a much-needed win with the latter bagging a double in just his second game for the club.

Along with his two tries, Wighton also got two linebreaks, a linebreak assist, five tackle busts and ran for 130 metres. He was equally impressive in defence too with his kick-chase a highlight particularly in the second half.

“You talk about blokes trying to inspire their teammates, it’s been Cameron Murray and Jack Wighton,” Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach said in commentary.

“He did exactly what he’s been bought for. Plenty of involvement, plenty of touches… I thought he was very solid this afternoon.”

Michael Ennis added: “I thought Jack Wighton was terrific for them today. He picked up two tries and carried the ball with some venom out of their own half at times when they were under pressure.”

Meanwhile, Parker said Wighton is one of his “favourite players to watch” and applauded his attitude.

“It doesn’t matter what number he’s wearing or what team he’s playing for you just know exactly what you’re going to get,” he said.

“He competes hard, he takes it personally, he wants to win the battle and again today he was terrific… with the ball and more importantly without the ball.”

BULLDOGS ‘RUE CHANCES’ AS THEY LET WIN SLIP

It’s impossible to fault the Bulldogs’ effort in their loss to the Rabbitohs but as coach Cameron Ciraldo said afterwards they “need to execute better.”

Costly errors burned the Bulldogs as they finished with a 77 per cent completion rate compared to Souths’ 97 per cent.

Things seemed to get messier in the second half and they failed to take advantage of their good field position. The Bulldogs had 19 tackles in the opposition’s 20 compared to the Rabbitohs’ four tackles but only managed to score one try in the final minute.

Fox League commentator Warren Smith said the Dogs will “rue those chances inside the 20,” while Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach declared it was a game they let slip

“This is the one that got away. When you have a look at it, the amount of ball the Bulldogs have had in the last 20 minutes, it should’ve been good enough to at least get a try to level up the scores,” Roach said with four minutes left on the clock.

“It’ll be the one they looked at as the one that got away.”

Greg Alexander said they “didn’t have the polish,” while Michael Ennis — a former captain of the club — knows this one will hurt.

“They had enormous amounts of possession and enough to win the game. They’ll be disappointed — it was one that certainly slipped away,” he said.

COACHES SWEAT ON STAR WINGERS

The monkey is off Jason Demetriou’s back following the Rabbitohs’ win, while Cameron Ciraldo found some positives in his side’s loss but both coaches will be sweating on the availability of key players.

The Bulldogs lost Josh Addo-Carr on the stroke of half time after his head collided with Latrell Mitchell’s hip in a tackle.

It was deemed that Addo-Carr was displaying category one concussion symptoms and did not return from the field. He is now all but ruled out of next week’s clash with the Roosters.

It’s an unfortunate blow for the 28-year-old, who had only just returned from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for three weeks.

As for the Rabbitohs, they could be without Alex Johnston after he left the field in the 71st minute with hamstring tightness. Given Campbell Graham and Tyrone Munro are unavailable, the last thing the Bunnies need is another backline injury.

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