Sports Force.net.au

Published on May 16, 2010 by Brendon Meynell

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have re-affirmed their top eight aspirations with a dominant 50-10 victory over cross town rivals the Wests Tigers as the NRL’s Heritage Round continued through Sunday afternoon football, winger Nathan Merritt crossing for three tries for the Rabbitohs while Beau Champion crossed for a double.

It is one of the National Rugby League’s most important rounds on the calendar each season, the Heritage Round was designed as a money grabber round to bring fans both old and new coming through the gates as teams who have built up a rivalry over the years go head to head with the most important thing of all on the line – Bragging rights.

However in Sunday afternoon football, the great past time that is enjoyed by every rugby league fan, it was much less that a feirce battle built on rivalry – it was a one sidded match that one team took a strangle-hold off in the second half and never looked back.

Passion, Determination and class is everything the South Sydney Rabbitohs showed as the curtains of Heritage Round began to fall bringing with it round ten of the 2010 National Rugby League season.

It took just thirteen minutes for the top eight bound South Sydney Rabbitohs to hit the front in the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in front of over 30 000 members and fans, with try-scoring machine Nathan Merritt crossing for the first of his three tries for the match in a performance that should have had him on the tips of the tongue of State of Origin selectors – unfortunately it wont.

Former Brisbane Bronco and almost must-have Queensland forward David Taylor then added his name to the score keepers books when he crossed in the twenty-fourth minute in a first half dominated by big hits, some pieces of brilliance however alot of drop ball by both teams.

Halfback Chris Sandow scored just on the half an hour mark in a try that opened the flood gates for the Rabbitohs who enjoyed a handy 18-6 lead at the half-time break, the Tigers receiving a blast from coach Tim Sheens during the break were looking for a much improved second half however it wasn’t to be as John Lang’s men came out firing in the second half.

It took just three minutes into the second half for the South Sydney Rabbitohs to once again extend their lead, this time centre Beau Champion adding his name to the list in what was the first of back-to-back tries as he scored again just three minutes later in a ten minute period of play that all but ended the match as a contest as Nathan Merritt also scored his second before fifty minutes was shown on the clock.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs running out a massive 50-10 victory over the Wests Tigers in a match that for the Tigers could only be described as embarrassing.

South Sydney Rabbitohs 50
Tries: Nathan Merritt 3, Beau Champion 2, Dave Taylor, Chris Sandow, Colin Best, Fetuli Talanoa.
Conversions: Issac Luke 7 from 9

Wests Tigers 10
Tries: Robert Lui, Chris Lawrence.
Conversions: Benji Marshall 1 from 2.