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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-demolish-souths/story-e6frexnr-1225907974182
Wrapped up...Penrith's Michael Gordon is tackled. Source: The Daily Telegraph
Panthers v Rabbitohs
THE red and green tail lights said it all. With 40 minutes still remaining and their team's season on the line at Penrith last night, hundreds of Rabbitohs fans fled to the carparks with cotton tails firmly wedged between their hind legs.
The sight of the South Sydney faithful deserting their team was only slightly less incredible than what had just triggered this rare exodus.
The Panthers absolutely mauled the Rabbitohs' slim finals hopes with an unanswered seven-try ambush to lead by 40 points after as many minutes.
The fact Souths responded to "win" the second half 18-14 barely dulled the shock that reverberated around the visitors' sheds after fulltime. Slumped alone in the corner with his right leg in a brace after suffering a first-half break, centre Beau Champion said he'd never experienced such an onslaught.
"It was like we knew it was happening, but we just couldn't do anything to stop it," Champion said.
"I remember a game where we got beaten 66-0 in 2006, but this was stranger because we came here ready to play. I really thought we were in the right frame of mind and the talk was really good."
Rabbitohs coach John Lang also maintained the talk was encouraging before kick-off. It included some one-on-ones between the players and co-owner Russell Crowe, who was so confident that he watched from the team bunker - close enough to be smattered by his own men's entrails as Panther claws got to work.
To his credit, Crowe stayed until the bitter end but favoured a quick get-away in his black Hummer over a post-mortem in the losing rooms.
"It's bad to see the fans leave - they should stick by us," Champion said.
"But when we're losing 40-0, I suppose you can't really blame them."
Lang and his players prefered to talk-up Penrith's performance instead of lambasting their own. Still the faintest of mathematical chances thanks to Brisbane's heavy loss in Newcastle, a wildly optimistic outlook is required.
But now for a realistic one. Souths began like they'd overindulged at the strip of culinary eyesores across Mulgoa Rd, their defence slow and unresponsive from the opening whistle. Penrith's forwards gobbled-up 55m in their first three charges and the game was just two minutes old when prop Sam McKendry opened the scoring from a delightful Luke Walsh pass.
The little halfback would proceed to have a hand in all but two of Penrith's first-half tries as the hosts cleansed their hapless opponents like ultra-strength antiseptic on a mouldy shower wall.
In attack Souths weren't any better - completing just six from 11 first-half sets and kicking dreadfully.
"They just blew us off the park - that's the bottom line," Lang said. "I could probably find 50 areas where we went wrong.
"[But] in a game like that the effort doesn't seem to count. It's like a fighter who gets beaten every time he tries to throw a punch."
The only possible bone of contention any Rabbitoh could raise was a dreadful penalty while in possession against prop Sam Burgess midway through the first half massacre.
Souths were trailing 16-0 at the time when referee Tony Archer unfairly rebuked the Englishman for running into Travis Burns, who was not involved in the play.
Burgess labelled the call "wrong" but remained calm afterwards. Lang, however, claimed the import was suffering from a poor reputation with whistleblowers that's already placed him at the centre of several contentious calls this season.
Penrith 54 (M Gordon 3, T Burns 2, S Earl 2, M Iosefa, S McKendry tries; M Gordon 9 goals) South Sydney 18 (L Capewell, D Farrell, R Wesser tries; C Sandow 3 goals) at CUA Stadium. Referees: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 13,411.
- By Josh Massoud
- From: The Daily Telegraph
- August 21, 2010 12:00AM
Wrapped up...Penrith's Michael Gordon is tackled. Source: The Daily Telegraph
Panthers v Rabbitohs
- Panthers 54 Rabbitohs 18
THE red and green tail lights said it all. With 40 minutes still remaining and their team's season on the line at Penrith last night, hundreds of Rabbitohs fans fled to the carparks with cotton tails firmly wedged between their hind legs.
The sight of the South Sydney faithful deserting their team was only slightly less incredible than what had just triggered this rare exodus.
The Panthers absolutely mauled the Rabbitohs' slim finals hopes with an unanswered seven-try ambush to lead by 40 points after as many minutes.
The fact Souths responded to "win" the second half 18-14 barely dulled the shock that reverberated around the visitors' sheds after fulltime. Slumped alone in the corner with his right leg in a brace after suffering a first-half break, centre Beau Champion said he'd never experienced such an onslaught.
"It was like we knew it was happening, but we just couldn't do anything to stop it," Champion said.
"I remember a game where we got beaten 66-0 in 2006, but this was stranger because we came here ready to play. I really thought we were in the right frame of mind and the talk was really good."
Rabbitohs coach John Lang also maintained the talk was encouraging before kick-off. It included some one-on-ones between the players and co-owner Russell Crowe, who was so confident that he watched from the team bunker - close enough to be smattered by his own men's entrails as Panther claws got to work.
To his credit, Crowe stayed until the bitter end but favoured a quick get-away in his black Hummer over a post-mortem in the losing rooms.
"It's bad to see the fans leave - they should stick by us," Champion said.
"But when we're losing 40-0, I suppose you can't really blame them."
Lang and his players prefered to talk-up Penrith's performance instead of lambasting their own. Still the faintest of mathematical chances thanks to Brisbane's heavy loss in Newcastle, a wildly optimistic outlook is required.
But now for a realistic one. Souths began like they'd overindulged at the strip of culinary eyesores across Mulgoa Rd, their defence slow and unresponsive from the opening whistle. Penrith's forwards gobbled-up 55m in their first three charges and the game was just two minutes old when prop Sam McKendry opened the scoring from a delightful Luke Walsh pass.
The little halfback would proceed to have a hand in all but two of Penrith's first-half tries as the hosts cleansed their hapless opponents like ultra-strength antiseptic on a mouldy shower wall.
In attack Souths weren't any better - completing just six from 11 first-half sets and kicking dreadfully.
"They just blew us off the park - that's the bottom line," Lang said. "I could probably find 50 areas where we went wrong.
"[But] in a game like that the effort doesn't seem to count. It's like a fighter who gets beaten every time he tries to throw a punch."
The only possible bone of contention any Rabbitoh could raise was a dreadful penalty while in possession against prop Sam Burgess midway through the first half massacre.
Souths were trailing 16-0 at the time when referee Tony Archer unfairly rebuked the Englishman for running into Travis Burns, who was not involved in the play.
Burgess labelled the call "wrong" but remained calm afterwards. Lang, however, claimed the import was suffering from a poor reputation with whistleblowers that's already placed him at the centre of several contentious calls this season.
Penrith 54 (M Gordon 3, T Burns 2, S Earl 2, M Iosefa, S McKendry tries; M Gordon 9 goals) South Sydney 18 (L Capewell, D Farrell, R Wesser tries; C Sandow 3 goals) at CUA Stadium. Referees: Tony Archer, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 13,411.
