Reynolds has field day for Souths
The NRL have their September wish with South Sydney soldiering on to face bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters in a blockbuster preliminary final on Saturday courtesy of Adam Reynolds’ magical right boot.
In another thrilling finals clash, the Souths halfback slotted three field goals, in the 70th minute, 78th minute and with 20 seconds on the clock, to secure a 13-12 win over St George Illawarra.
The Dragons gave their all and thought they had the match won with four minutes remaining when rookie centre Zac Lomax landed a penalty goal.
The Red V were not expected to advance past week one of the finals but coach Paul Mcgregor will know his side could have easily been preparing for the Roosters.
Souths endured an awful 48-hour leadup to the game because of a much-publicised sexting scandal. Rather than making news on the back pages, the club found itself splashed all over the front pages.
But you would not have guessed this was a team put off their game as they celebrated wildly around Reynolds after his right-footed winner.
‘‘It was a strange old night, I never thought about kicking three field goals in a game,’’ Reynolds said.
‘‘There was a lot of emotion out there. I love these boys. They mean a lot to me and they’re like my family. I’m thankful we get to go again next week.’’
Souths coach Anthony Seibold was full of praise for Reynolds and Cam Murray, who came up with a crucial tackle to give Souths the chance to level the scores late. ‘‘It was a gamechanger,’’ Seibold said.
Seibold started the mind games by declaring the pressure was on the Bondi boys. ‘‘It’s a big game, and it will be a great challenge for us as a group,’’ Seibold said.
‘‘They would have had a good rest this weekend I’d imagine, and we’re really keen to put some pressure on them. They’re the minor premiers, they may have been in four of the last six preliminary finals, so there’s a fair bit of pressure on them. We’ll go there and give it a red-hot crack.’’
On Friday night, Cronulla survived an almighty comeback from Penrith to grab a heartstopping 21-20 victory.
Down 18-0 after 30 minutes, the Panthers mounted a memorable fightback but fell agonisingly short.
A 75th-minute field goal to Sharks halfback Chad Townsend proved decisive as rival playmaker Nathan Cleary hooked his attempt to level the contest soon after.