RABBITOHS HOLD ON

A second miracle comeback in two weeks proved to be too tall an order for the Tigers, but they gave finals-bound South Sydney a mighty scare as the Rabbitohs escaped Bankwest Stadium with a 26-24 victory last night.

It was a match of semifinal intensity, but also of high drama and skill, with both teams crossing for miracle tries, amid an old-school blue straight out of 1975 and a marvelous playmaking duel between South Sydney’s Cody Walker and the Tigers’ Benji Marshall.

Another Rabbitohs blowout seemed in the offing after South Sydney raced out to a 20-0 lead in even time early on.

But just like last week’s late win over Manly, the Tigers refused to lie down — they narrowed the gap to 20-12 by halftime and the second stanza was played on the edge of a knife.

It wasn’t until the final play of the match — when the Tigers’ last, desperate attack fell just short — that South Sydney’s win was assured.

It keeps the Rabbitohs top four hopes alive while likely condemning the Tigers to yet another year without finals football.

Tensions boiled over in the 51st minute as Tigers halfback Luke Brooks and Rabbitohs winger Dane Gagai were sin-binned for punching — with Alex Twal already in the bin for a professional foul, it was 12 on 11 for almost seven minutes.

The Rabbitohs made the most of their advantage, crossing through Campbell Graham and extending their lead to 26-12, but once again the Tigers refused to yield.

Once both teams had a full complement the underdog Tigers roared to life — first Brooks crossed for one of the tries of the year after Benji Marshall regathered his own grubber and threw a behind the back flick pass to in-form winger David Nofoaluma.

Nofoaluma kicked inside for a flying Brooks to pounce next to the posts to score a miraculous try.