Souths' finals dream becoming reality; Injuries add insult to bitter ...
Latrell Mitchell has starred for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their 32-16 win over the Parramatta Eels in Round 18 at CommBank Stadium.
Fresh from his heroics in Game II of the 2024 State of Origin series onlookers could’ve been forgiven for thinking Mitchell was wearing the sky blue tonight instead of red and white.
Put simply, South Sydney’s fullback was everywhere. In the eighth minute, he created his side’s first try of the night for Jacob Gagai.
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Off a scrum 10 metres out from the Eels line, Cody Walker noticed a weak defensive line and instructed his fullback to shift from left to right. Mitchell did just that to assist Gagai for a simple try.
“He won’t get an easier one than that,” Fox League’s Mick Ennis said on commentary.
Outside of Gagai’s try, the opening stages of this contest were poor to say the least. Both sides were riddled with errors, making five combined by the 13th minute mark.
At half-time that figure had ballooned to nine, meaning the contest ebbed and flowed for much of the opening 40 minutes with neither side able to assert themselves on the contest.
If one side was closest to dominating the game it was the Eels. For much of the game’s first half they dominated the field position and boasted 68% of the territory when both side’s headed into the sheds at half-time.
On top of this, Parramatta were tackled 23 times in South Sydney’s 20 during the first 40, as opposed to the Rabbitohs’ six tackles in the Eels 20.
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However, the home side failed to capitalise on their field position due to a mix of their inability to nail the final pass and a resolute South Sydney defence that at times looked as solid as a rock.
Parramatta’s best chance of the first half came just before the half hour mark. Five-eighth Dylan Brown grubbered for himself and looked certain to get his side on the board, only for a boot from the scrambling Mitchell to toe the ball dead.
Fox League’s Andrew Voss said the Rabbitohs fullback was “dialled in.”
Mitchell’s efforts were praised by Ennis too, who hailed the No.1 for being “perfectly positioned.”
“Great save from Latrell Mitchell. Big play,” Ennis said.
Mitchell would once again be on hand to deny Brown, who broke into open space following an offload from young gun Blaize Talagi.
The Eels five-eighth attempted to bamboozle South Sydney’s fullback with some fancy footwork, only for Mitchell to bring him down and prevent another certain Parramatta try.
However, Talagi would score a few tackles later to bring the Eels within touching distance of Souths’ lead before half-time, only for Walker to cross in the last play of the game.
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Parramatta scored first in the second half after prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard powered over from close range to give the Eels the faintest hope of clawing their way back into the contest.
However from there it was all South Sydney, and Mitchell, who scored in the 56th minute and set Gagai up again in the 68th minute to extend South Sydney’s lead heading into the game’s closing stages.
Parramatta’s woes were compounded when star halfback Mitch Moses was sin binned in the 75th minute.
A minute later Jack Wighton scored his side’s final try of the night to send South Sydney within touching distance of the top eight and keep their finals dreams alive.
WHAT WE LEARNED
CAN SOUTHS PLAY FINALS?
Two months ago you would have been laughed at for wondering if South Sydney can play finals football in 2024.
Now, it’s a distinct possibility off the back of their current winning streak, which was extended to five games with their big win over the Parramatta Eels in Round 18.
Of course, the Eels possess some of the game’s finest attacking talent in Latrell Mitchell, Jack Wighton, Cody Walker and Damien Cook, but it’s been their defence upon which these wins have been built.
In their last six games, Souths have averaged just 13.2 points conceded per game. That’s a competition leading defensive record from a side who’s season seemed dead and buried in April.
Speaking on Thursday night’s The Matty Johns Show, former Rabbitohs captain Bryan Fletcher shared his belief the Bunnies can qualify for the finals.
“Historically 13 wins will get you in the top eight. They need to win seven of their last nine. And that’ll give them 13 wins,” Fletcher said.
At the moment, South’s are just two points outside the eight with 18 points from six wins. They’ve also had all three of their byes.
Qualifying from the finals would require them to win a large majority of their remaining games of the season, which include clashes with the Melbourne Storm, Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters and Cronulla Sharks.
It’s a tough task, but stranger things have happened in rugby league.
INJURY TO INSULT
Wighton’s late try sent the Eels tumbling back to the bottom of the ladder on for and against, with the blue and golds now sweating on Junior Paulo’s fitness after the veteran prop limped off with a right foot injury.
Paulo is one of the most durable big men in the comp and the Eels can’t afford to lose his ball-playing in the middle, although Reagan Campbell-Gillard did grab a try after coming on to replace him.
Mitch Moses called on his team to lift after last week’s loss in Newcastle, but there are still some glaring issues they need to fix, with some sloppy defence allowing Cody Walker to score on the stroke of half-time.
The rep star also beat his teammates to the sheds after he was sent to the sin bin for spending too long in a tackle in the final five minutes.
ON A WING WITH SOME FLAIR
Whoever takes over at the Eels next year has a lot of work to do with their defence, but the incoming coach has to be excited with their youngsters after they produced some eye-catching plays on Thursday night.
Blaize Talagi’s contract is going to be the number one priority for the Eels going forward, with the youngster scoring for the seventh game in a row to continue his incredible rookie year.
And he isn’t the only outside back who has Parramatta fans a little excited, with debutant Jake Tago running amok down the left edge and showing why he should be the man to play left wing with Maika Sivo out for a month.
Charlie Guymer also impressed on debut, taking it to South Sydney’s forwards in the second half.
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