Rabbitohs show their premiership hand with Knights demolition
League News Newcastle Knights South Sydney Rabbitohs
Date August 3, 2014 - 10:30PM
Phil Gould
League Columnist
Triple threat: Hat-trick hero Alex Johnston goes over.
Photo: Getty Images
South Sydney Rabbitohs 50 Newcastle Knights 10. I was not expecting that kind of a scoreline.
It would be easy to say the Knights were poor, hence the blowout winning margin. But I think such a statement would only be doing the Rabbitohs a complete injustice.
The way I saw it, Souths simply flexed their premiership muscles and the Knights wilted under the relentless pressure.
Going into this match, I saw it as something of a danger game for the Rabbitohs. They played in freezing cold conditions in Canberra last Monday night. They had to contend with the short turnaround and a long trip to the steamy conditions in the tropics of North Queensland. They were missing key players in the shape of injured stars Sam Burgess and John Sutton. They were playing a team in the Knights who were enjoying a mini revival in their season, including a last-start victory over defending premiers the Roosters.
No, any way I looked at it, any kind of victory for the Rabbitohs under these conditions would be a great effort.
Great effort? It was a total demolition. They power-housed over their rivals in what can only be described as a near perfect performance.
If you remove the five-minute period early in the second half where they conceded two soft tries to the Knights with some lazy goal-line defence, the rest of the match was as clinical as it gets.
Mind you, the Rabbitohs were leading 32-0 when they allowed the Knights those back-to-back scores. And it was only a momentary lapse in concentration in an otherwise dominant hammering of their lowly-placed opponents.
The beauty of the Souths' performance was the simplicity of their playing style and the meticulous nature of their execution.
The Rabbitohs play to their obvious strengths. They smash their opposition in the middle of the field through the relentless charges of their massive forward pack. They are very good at what they do. Charge after charge over the advantage line. When you think they have charged enough, they charge again.
If they haven't reached the attacking zone by the back end of the set of six, they default to the impeccable kicking game of halfback Adam Reynolds to pin their opposition back close to their own try line. They back this up with a wonderful kick-chase mentality that gives up few metres and pressures every ball carrier.
They patiently wait for the set of six that starts within smelling distance of their opponents in-goal. Once in good field position, they move into a different formation allowing for their creative players in hooker Issac Luke, half Reynolds and young gun five-eighth Luke Keary to ignite the explosiveness of their brilliant ball runners down the edges of the field.
Now, that's pretty much their game in a nutshell. They rarely move away from this tried and tested winning formula. Every opposition team knows what's coming. But
knowing what's coming and being able to
stop what's coming are two completely different things.
Yesterday, the Knights simply couldn't stop what South Sydney were throwing at them. It was as though they were hoping Souths would make a mistake so the battering would end.
They got no joy in that department. South Sydney were perfect through their first 22 opportunities in possession. By the time they had completed their first 22 sets of six in a row, without a hint of a blemish, the Rabbitohs had scored six unanswered tries and the game was over with 35 minutes left to play.
Luke; brilliant. Reynolds; brilliant. Keary has so much potential. The centres, Kirisome Auva'a and Dylan Walker, are so dangerous. Boom youngster Alex Johnston is such a wonderful finisher. Old Lote Tuquiri on the other wing is having a ball playing with the kiddies.
And then of course we have the great Greg Inglis at the back. He had some touches of class yesterday and several of his trademark powerful runs to excite the local fans. But for the most part he played within himself, knowing the young blokes had everything under control and that there are much bigger games ahead. He is a pro.
Towards the back end of the match, they had the Knights at their mercy. South Sydney started to expand on their attacking options and really entertained the crowd. They scored five second-half tries, each more flamboyant and skilful than the one before.
The Knights had no answer. They were beaten to the punch, overpowered and eventually overwhelmed with the might of South Sydney's play. Some of their youngsters tried their hearts out, but by the end of play they had been given a lesson in the brutal reality of NRL football. It was a learning experience they won't forget in a hurry.
Every year at this time, the potential winners of the premiership crown start to announce themselves.
South Sydney's powerhouse display was one of commitment. It was a show of intent. It was an announcement of their aspirations.
The Rabbitohs are serious contenders for this year's title.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...demolition-20140803-1001ka.html#ixzz39OwS18js
