League Unlimited

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have emerged with a 32-26 victory over the Cronulla Sharks in a free-flowing match in front of 11,200 fans at ANZ Stadium.

The Rabbitohs jumped out of the blocks to open up a 16-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a solid run of controlled possession and some lack-lustre defence from the Sharks. The halves combination of John Sutton and Chris Sandow produced plenty of attacking spark, with Sandow especially producing some dazzling touches.

Just when it looked like the home side were about to post a cricket score, the Sharks began to control possession and found plenty of gaps of their own. Returning skipper Paul Gallen opened their account and two further tries before halftime to wingers Luke Covell and David Simmons closed the gap to 22-18 at halftime. The Sharks have certainly had their problems on attack recently, and while it’s fair to say they were looking a bit sharper tonight, they were certainly aided by some pretty unorganised Rabbitohs defence.

The Sharks came out firing in the second half but their momentum was severely dented by two tries in consecutive sets to the Rabbitohs that blew the lead out to 32-18 with half an hour of the game remaining. They managed to narrow the gap with two further tries but they left their run a little too late, allowing the Rabbitohs to secure the two valuable Premiership points.

In a match dominated by attack it was only natural that the Rabbitohs duo of Sandow and Issac Luke found themselves to be heavily involved throughout, despite Luke finding himself starting the match from the bench. Craig Wing looked a bit lost in his new position of lock forward and left the field after suffering a knock to the head but should be OK for next weeks game against the table-topping Titans.

For the Sharks, their skipper Paul Gallen showed how important he is to his team with a stand-out performance on his return from suspension. Unfortunately he had very little back-up from his team mates – their halves still haven’t gelled, and their star back-rowers aren’t having the impact needed. They’ll finish Round 7 still cemented in last place before looking ahead to a home clash against the Roosters next weekend.

Match Details
South Sydney Rabbitohs 32 def Cronulla Sharks 26
Round 7 - Friday April 24th, 2009 7:35pm
Venue: ANZ Stadium
Referee: Ben Cummins & Alan Shortall
Sideline: Luke Potter & David Abood
Video: Paul Simpkins
Crowd: 11,208
Halftime: Rabbitohs 22 Sharks 18

South Sydney Rabbitohs 32
Tries: Beau Champion (2), David Kidwell, David Fa'alogo, Roy Asotasi, Nathan Merritt
Goals: Chris Sandow (4/6)
Field Goals: John Sutton (0/1)

Cronulla Sharks 26
Tries: Luke Covell (2), Paul Gallen, David Simmons, Ben Pomeroy
Goals: Luke Covell (3/5)

LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match
3 Points: Chris Sandow (Rabbitohs)
2 Points: Paul Gallen (Sharks)
1 Point: Issac Luke (Rabbitohs)

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary
Welcome to ANZ Stadium for tonights clash between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Cronulla Sharks. The Rabbitohs have lost their last two, while the dismal run of the Sharks has been well documented. Who will snap their losing streak tonight?

Here are the confirmed teams:

RABBITOHS: 1. Luke Capewell 2. Nathan Merritt 3. Colin Best 4. Beau Champion 5. Fetuli Talanoa 6. John Sutton 7. Chris Sandow 8. Luke Stuart 14. Jamie Simpson 10. Roy Asotasi (c) 11. David Kidwell 12. David Fa'alogo 13. Craig Wing
Interchange: 9. Issac Luke 15. Eddy Pettybourne 16. Jaiman Lowe 17. Scott Geddes
SHARKS: 1. Mitch Brown 2. David Simmons 3. Ben Pomeroy 4. Matthew Wright 5. Luke Covell 6. Trent Barrett 7. Brett Seymour 15. Bryan Norrie 9. Corey Hughes 10. Kade Snowden 11. Reece Williams 12. Anthony Tupou 13. Paul Gallen (c)
Interchange: 8. Luke Douglas 14. Reni Maitua 17. Terence Seu Seu 18. Ian Donnelly

KICKOFF: The Sharks will have first use of the ball.

2 min: The Sharks are about to start their third consecutive set thanks to a fumble from a bomb and then a penalty in their favour.

3 min: A high kick into the in-goal from Paul Gallen is knocked forward by the Sharks, so the Rabbitohs will come away with the ball for the first time tonight.

6 min: Trent Barrett tries a last-tackle grubber towards the Rabbitohs in-goal but the angle is wrong and it trickles into touch.

8 min: The Rabbitohs get their first attacking chance of the night but a terrible dummy-half pass leads to a knock on from David Kidwell only five metres out from the Sharks line.

10 min: John Sutton kicks on tackle one from a scrum win inside his own half - the Rabbitohs come up with the ball but some scrambling defence holds them out.

11 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
A penalty gives the Rabbitohs another attacking set - this one finishes with a pin-point pass from Chris Sandow that puts David Kidwell into a gap and he scores right next to the posts. Sandow adds the extras.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 6-0

16 min: Mitch Brown loses the ball in a tackle just inside the Rabbitohs half.

17 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
A John Sutton bomb is batted back and the Rabbitohs regain possession before spinning the ball out to the other wing with a bit of juggling from Chris Sandow thrown in along the way for good measure. Beau Champion slides across for the try, and Sandow nails the conversion from the sideline.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 12-0

21 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
David Fa'alogo keeps the scoreboard ticking over by chasing through on a John Sutton grubber kick and winning the race to the ball ahead of the Sharks defence. Chris Sandow misses the conversion attempt.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-0

25 min: Nathan Merritt claims a high Sharks bomb just a few metres out from his own line before being pushed back into the in-goal by Luke Covell.

26 min: TRY Cronulla Sharks
Corey Hughes throws a dummy only a couple of metres out before turning the ball back on the inside for Paul Gallen and he gets across for the try. Luke Covell converts.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16-6

28 min: The Rabbitohs try a short kick-off for some reason, and the Sharks come up with the ball on their own 40 metre line.

32 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
Issac Luke puts Roy Asotasi into a gap with a nice short pass and despite having Chris Sandow backing him up on the inside Asotasi manages to run 35 metres to score. Sandow adds the extra two.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 22-6

36 min: TRY Cronulla Sharks
A fumble from Fetuli Talanoa hands the Sharks some good attacking possession, and Luke Covell takes full advantage by brushing off some pretty weak Rabbitohs defence on a 12 metre run to the line. Covell adds the extras to his own try.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 22-12

39 min: VIDEO REF - possible try out wide to the Sharks, just checking for a possible obstruction...

39 min: TRY Cronulla Sharks
David Simmons finds himself on the end of a nice backline play and scores right in the corner. The Rabbitohs defence looks like it's clocked off for halftime a bit early and the Sharks have found it pretty easy to narrow the gap on the scoreboard. Luke Covell kicks the conversion from the chalk.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 22-18

HALFTIME: Rabbitohs 22 Sharks 18
It seems both of these sides have given their defensive coaches the week off. At the risk of stating the obvious, whoever can hold on to the ball for the second half will put themselves well and truly in the box seat to take this one.

The second half is underway!

41 min: Some strong defence from Reni Maitua forces an error from Roy Asotasi - the Sharks will have a scrum feed on the Rabbitohs 30 metre line.

43 min: Reece Williams pokes through a hole but can't link up with the support outside him and the Rabbitohs fall on the loose ball.

44 min: Reni Maitua gets involved again, this time forcing an error from Chris Sandow although he was lucky not to get penalised for a strip.

46 min: A very sharp offload from Paul Gallen sees Terence Seuseu make a huge break up the middle before the Rabbitohs defence manages to reign him in. The set finishes with an attacking bomb to the corner that is knocked forward by Luke Covell.

49 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs get their first real chance of the second half and it leads to a second try for Beau Champion following some nice lead-up work by Luke Capewell and a bad defensive miss from Matthew Wright. Chris Sandow adds the extras.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 28-18

51 min: TRY South Sydney Rabbitohs
Issac Luke puts Beau Champion away with a nice short pass on halfway - Champion links up with Nathan Merritt on his outside and the Rabbitohs go back to back. Chris Sandow's conversion attempt is a shocker, it barely gets off the ground.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-18

55 min: Chris Sandow positions himself very well to cover a dangerous chip-and-chase from Trent Barrett.

57 min: Fetuli Talanoa claims a Sharks clearing kick and makes a slashing 40-metre kick return weaving through the middle of the ground.

58 min: Luke Covell catches a Chris Sandow bomb inside his own in-goal just ahead of a flying Nathan Merritt.

62 min: Brett Seymour puts in an inch-perfect kick for David Simmons out wide - but Simmons fumbles the ball forward into the Rabbitohs in-goal without a defender in sight.

63 min: David Simmons redeems himself slightly with a 50 metre kick-return, but the Sharks spoil their good field position with another sloppy pass and a knock-on.

66 min: TRY Cronulla Sharks
Ben Pomeroy gets the ball 15 metres out and crashes through four attempted tackles before getting the ball over the line. If the Sharks can control possession then the Rabbitohs defence will give them every chance of mounting a comeback here. Luke Covell's conversion attempt hits the posts and bounces away.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-22

69 min: Chris Sandow kicks deliberately for touch to slow the play down. The Rabbitohs are running out of puff here.

70 min: Paul Gallen gets himself into half a gap and tries to link up with support on his outside but the Rabbitohs knock the ball backwards and come up with the scraps.

72 min: Trent Barrett spots some space out wide and tries an early tackle kick to David Simmons but the ball beats him into touch.

75 min: TRY Cronulla Sharks
Luke Covell scores his second after chasing through on a nice Corey Hughes kick following a Rabbitohs fumble. Covell misses the conversion attempt, but the Sharks are right back in it!
South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-26

77 min: A penalty gives the Sharks an easy ride downfield, they'll start a new attacking set only 30 metres out.

78 min: Brett Seymour chips into the in-goal, David Simmons leaps and knocks the ball backwards before Colin Best swoops in and kicks the ball dead. The Sharks will get the ball back ...

79 min: Kade Snowden fumbles, and the Rabbitohs have the ball to work their way out of trouble.

80 min: ATTEMPTED FIELD GOAL South Sydney Rabbitohs
John Sutton tries to snap a one-pointer but it falls short.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 32-26

80 min: The Sharks try an early tackle kick towards the sideline but the ball beats everyone into touch.

FULLTIME: Rabbitohs 32 Sharks 26
The Rabbitohs keep themselves in touch with the leaders thanks to this win, but there's some work to be done with their defence if they want to become serious contenders.