| Bunnies hold off Warriors | | Print | |
| Sunday, 03 August 2008 18:56 | |||
 Scott Brooks Sportal The South Sydney Rabbitohs have put a serious dent in the Warriors' finals chances, claiming a heart-stopping 18-16 victory at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night. After the score was locked at 12-all at the break, the Rabbitohs were first to score in the second half when former skipper David Kidwell dived on a deft Chris Sandow grubber in the 55th minute. The Warriors struck back eight minutes later through full-back Lance Hohaia and had much of the running for the remainder of the game, but it was the gritty Bunnies' goal-line defence in the dying moments that would deny the New Zealand club an ideal opportunity to leap into the top eight. It was the Warriors first loss in five matches, while the Rabbitohs have arrested a two-game losing streak to keep their ever so slim finals' prospects alive. The Bunnies began the match in spectacular fashion when lock John Sutton surprised everyone with a kick from a scrum in his own half for full-back Nathan Merritt to chase down then out-sprint the oncoming defence for the opening try in the sixth minute. Hooker Issac Luke landed the wide-range conversion to put the Rabbitohs up 6-0. But a Souths mistake whilst on the attack would result in the Warriors' first try, prop Ruben Wiki picking up the scraps to send Hohaia on a long run up-field before linking with centre Jerome Ropati who completed the 90m movement under the posts. Hohaia converted to level the scores at 6-all after almost a quarter of the match. A dropped ball from Warriors lock Michael Luck just after the re-start handed the Rabbitohs field position for their second four-pointer, five-eighth Craig Wing producing a superb face ball to send centre Ben Lowe crashing over for a converted try. Enigmatic Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei celebrated his surprise return from injury with a strong 30m burst to set up a classy try for Hohaia just three minutes before the break. Hohaia's conversion ensured the half-time scoreline of 12-all. One of the reasons for Souths' mid-season revival has been the form of Sandow and he again proved his worth in the 55th minute, producing a 40/20 then from the very next set tapping a grubber in-goal for Kidwell to score and put the Rabbitohs in front 18-12. The tit-for-tat nature of this game continued when Hohaia brushed through some flimsy defence in the 63rd minute for his second try before missing the vital conversion to leave the Warriors trailing by two points. Merritt was controversially denied a try a couple of minutes later when video referee Graeme West ruled a pass from Sandow was knocked forward by the hand of Wing on its way to second-rower David Fa'alogo who made the initial bust. But some desperate defence in the final moments would ensure the Rabbitohs their second victory over the Warriors in 2008. South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 New Zealand Warriors 16 Sportal's NRL Player of the Year: Photograph Copyright : Getty Images
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 August 2008 06:52 |