Benny’s Bunnies salute
Error-prone Roosters no match for Wayne’s boys
WAYNE Bennett has celebrated his first match as South Sydney coach with an impressive 26-16 takedown of reigning NRL premiers the Roosters.
The Rabbitohs were down 12-10 at half-time in their season-opener at the patched-up SCG last night but made their arch-rivals pay for an errorriddled display.
Adam Reynolds twice set up tries by grubber-kicking into the upright and sealed the victory with a third try assist for Alex Johnston in an eyecatching effort.
Tempers flared not long after the try when Cody Walker pushed Cooper Cronk in the chest after taking exception to some words from the veteran.
Soon there was blood spilt after Latrell Mitchell and Dane Gagai, who were at each other’s throats for most of the night, clashed heads late in the contest. But in the end it was the Rabbitohs who claimed a knockout win in front of a crowd of 24,527 who braved the miserable weather.
Both teams struggled to control the ball in the slippery conditions, however the Roosters shot themselves in the foot with mistakes deep in their own half.
All up, Trent Robinson’s side only completed just over half of their 58 sets.
And while the Rabbitohs still spurned another four opportunities, the weight of possession was simply too much for a gallant Roosters defence.
The visitors took the lead when Campbell Graham beat Cronk’s cover tackle in the 48th minute to kickstart a telling 12-minute spurt.
The Roosters should’ve regained the lead not long after when Boyd Cordner was in the clear but the ball was dislodged by Sam Burgess.