| Wing comeback sparks Rabbitohs Revival | | Print | |
| Sunday, 29 March 2009 17:27 | |||
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Craig Wing sparked Souths into action with a dynamic performance off the bench to deny a gutsy Newcastle Knights 22-12 at Bluetongue Stadium. 15,277 fans were at Gosford to witness the clash as the Newcastle Knights were the superior team for the first hour of the match. Craig Wing sparked a lethargic Souths outfit into action as he received the ball wide on the right in the 57th minute to slice through for the Bunnies and score. It was all Souths from then on as they turned around an 8-0 half time deficit to score 22 unanswered points. Talanoa finished off a slick 90m set as Souths went back-to-back following Wing's try and 10 minutes later Wing all but sealed the match for the Bunnies as he darted from dummy-half to score. Isaac Luke signalled curtains for Newcastle as he finished off a Fa'alogo break to blow Souths lead out to 14 points. It was Newcastle who got off to the perfect start as they chose to run the ball on the last in the first set of the game. They were rewarded for their enterprising play as James McManus finished off a 60m backline move. South Sydney had all the ball and plenty of attacking opportunities but couldn't break a commited Newcastle defence. The Knights made the most of their rare opportunities as Aku Uate collected a Scott Dureau kick to take the Knights to an 8-0 lead and the scores remained unchanged into the break. A slumbering South Sydney returned from the sheds and it was not until Wing's individual brilliance that they started to dominate through the likes of Isaac Luke and John Sutton. Kurt Gidley was courageous for the Knights as he made two spectacular try-saving tackles within a few minutes in the closing stages of the game and he was the man to provide the last pass for Junior Sau to score a consolation try for the Knights in the 76th minute. The final score which finished 22-12 ultimately flattered South Sydney in the four tries to three victory. Match Details South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 Newcastle Knights 12 LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Hello and welcome to this afternoon's live coverage of the South Sydney Rabbitohs clash with the Newcastle Knights at Bluetongue Stadium. Newcastle have won four of their last five against the Rabbitohs but injuries and a short turnaround from Monday Night Football will hurt them. The Bunnies will be well rested after a ten day break and will see Craig Wing make his return on the interchange bench. Team Changes: Rabbitohs - Rhy Wesser is out. Luke Capewell comes into the team at fullback. RABBITOHS: 18. Luke Capewell 2. Shaune Corrigan 3. Colin Best 4. Beau Champion 5. Fetuli Talanoa 6. John Sutton 7. Chris Sandow 8. Luke Stuart 9. Issac Luke 10. Roy Asotasi (c) 11. Ben Lowe 12. Shannan McPherson 13. David Fa'alogo KNIGHTS: 1. Kurt Gidley (c) 2. James McManus 3. Junior Sau 4. Adam MacDougall 5. Akuila Uate 6. Ben Rogers 7. Scott Dureau 8. Mark Taufua 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Ben Cross 11. Chris Houston 12. Cory Paterson 13. Zeb Taia NYC Toyota Cup- Newcastle Knights 26 def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 Extremely warm conditions in Gosford which could further hurt the Knights. 1 min: KICKOFF! The Bunnies kick off and the Knights have first use of the football through Ben Cross. 2 min: TRY Newcastle Knights 6 min: Capewell leaps high to diffuse a towering Scott Dureau bomb. 7 min: PENALTY Souths. South Sydney get some relief with a penalty inside their 30m line. 8 min: Goal-line Dropout Knights. Sutton drives a well-weighted grubber into the corner and Gidley is forced to knock it dead. 9 min: Goal-line Dropout Knights. Sutton sends a kick across field looking for Colin Best and McManus if forced to knock the ball dead away from the grasp of Isaac Luke. Another set for the Bunnies. 10 min: Sandow toes through a little grubber for Capewell mid-field but Gidley superbly gathers the ball on the slide. 11 min: PENALTY Knights. Newcastle receive a relieving penalty as Ben Lowe is penalised for working the man over. 13 min: PENALTY Souths. Isaac De Gois penalised for pushing over the man playing the ball and Souths have a tap 10m from Newcastle's line. 13 min: PENALTY Souths. Isaac Luke isn't watching at the play-the-ball and a Knights player dives on the ball but is penalised for doing so. Stupid rule. 15 min: PENALTY Knights. South Sydney penalised for being offside as Newcastle work the ball out of their half. Knights tap on halfway. 16 min: TRY Newcastle Knights 18 min: Newcastle lose the ball in the first tackle following the try and Souths have the chance to hit straight back. 19 min: Chris Houston makes a bust down the right and gives the ball inside to Ben Rogers who is tackled. The Knights on the attack here. 20 min: NO TRY Newcastle. Dureau kicks to the right corner and McManus does extremely well to nearly ground the ball but Video Ref Phil Cooley rightly rules he has lost the ball. 23 min: Scrum Souths. Gidley kicks the ball right for McManus who toes the ball on and knocks on as he dives over Capewell to gather the ball. McManus has been in everything! 24 min: PENALTY Souths. Knights penalised for being offside and Souths take a quick tap. 24 min: PENALTY Souths. Newcastle again caught offside. Souths tap 15m out with a glorious opportunity to register points. 25 min: Scrum Knights. Corrigan can't hold a Sutton cutout pass and Newcastle hang on again. South Sydney being impatient with the football at the moment. 28 min: Scrum Souths. Dureau intercepts a short ball and streaks 45m down field but Sandow runs him down and in doing so punches the ball from his grasp. Capewell takes the ball out and and it looks to be a Knights feed but the ref rules Dureau to have knocked on. 31 min: PENALTY Knights. Newcastle with a tap 25m out as Tim Natusch carts the ball up in his NRL debut. 32 min: PENALTY Souths. Sandow doesn't find touch off a penalty kick as Gidley reels the ball in. Uate makes a half break and Newcastle are just 25m out. 34 min: Craig Wing on for Souths. Can he spark what has been a lethargic Rabbitohs side? 35 min: Scrum Knights. Capewell collects a bomb and then breaks through the Knights to run 30m but loses the ball as he is tackled. 36 min: PENALTY Knights. Champion penalised and Newcastle have a tap 20m out with an opportunity to stretch their lead. 37 min: Talanoa makes a break through the ruck and finds Capewell inside who is tackled. Souths shift the ball right but Corrigan pases inside off the wing to Dureau. 39 min: PENALTY Souths. Souths firmly on attack and the Knights are penalised as MacDougall picks up a knocked down ball from an offside position. Souths on the attack 10m out. 40 min: The Knights show incredible resilience to hang on as Sutton kicks a grubber through but Gidley dives on the ball. Half time - South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 trail the Newcastle Knights 8 41 min: KICKOFF! Newcastle get the second half underway and Souths have first use of the football. 44 min: Richard Fa'aoso can't handle a sharp pass 5m from Souths line and Wing has the football. 46 min: 20m re-start Souths. Dureau drives a kick down field which goes dead and Souths have a 20m tap. 48 min: PENALTY Knights. Champion gives away a relieving penalty and Newcastle have tap on their 40m line. 48 min: PENALTY Knights. Lack of discipline from Kidwell as gives away a penalty and then is marched 10m for back chat. Newcastle with a tap 10m out. 49 min: Dureau steps through and goes within centimetres of getting the ball down as he is held up. 50 min: Goal-line Dropout Souths. Talanoa knocks a Knights grubber dead and Newcastle will get a repeat set. 51 min: Goal-line Dropout Souths. Souths forced to knock a Knights chip dead and Newcastle now with 77% of possession in the last 5mins. 52 min: PENALTY Knights. Sau makes a half break and earns a penalty as he is held down. 53 min: Ndaira beats 3 defenders in a blindside dart. 54 min: PENALTY Souths. Capewell does well to get the ball out of his in-goal and then receives a penalty as he's the victim of a grapple tackle. 55 min: Ben Rogers is put through a gap by Gidley off a scrum but has the ball knocked out by the tackle of Isaac Luke. 57 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 59 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 61 min: Fa'alogo receives a beautiful offload from Luke to streak down field and Gidley makes an equally brilliant one-on-one tackle to stop a certain try. INJURY- Beau Champion is off and Souths are down to one interchange. 63 min: PENALTY Knights. Gidley fakes to kick, runs through space and grubbers but is taken out without the ball and receives a penalty. Newcastle tap 40m out. 64 min: Corrigan takes an intercept and streaks down field but out of nowhere Gidley makes a sensational covering tackle. Gidley has saved two tries in three minutes! 67 min: PENALTY Souths. The Knights concede a relieving penalty and Souths have the ball on their 40m line. 68 min: Goal-line Dropout Knights. McManus takes the ball from the field of play into his in-goal but Rabbitohs chasers looked offside. 69 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs 71 min: Dureau, who was brilliant in the first half, knocks the ball cold and Souths have the ball. Crowd - 15,277 72 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs Injury- Cory Patterson on the bench with ice on the ankle. 76 min: TRY Newcastle Knights 79 min: Dureau kicks to the left wing to find Uate who streaks down field but the cover defence just drags him down. If the Knights scored there it would have been an interesting finish to the game. Fulltime- South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 def Newcastle Knights 12
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