Brent Kite of the Sea Eagles slips a ball away to his support as the Rabbitohs defence closes in. Photo: Getty Images

The Rabbitohs Toyota Cup Under 20's set the scene for a big night at Brookvale Oval when they knocked off the competition leaders the Manly Sea Eagles in a massive upset to the tune of 28 points to 26.

After being down 10-0 early in the first half the Junior Rabbitohs gradually wore down their more fancied opponents and thoroughly deserved their unexpected victory.

The lead sea-sawed throughout the second half and in the end it was a controversial try to Manly that went unconverted which allowed the Bunnies to come home winners.

Tries were scored by Junior Vaivai who bagged a double, Jason Clark, Kane Morgan and Malcolm Webster also crossed for four pointers. Clark now sits on 23 tries for the season while Vaivai has 20 to both be at the top of the Under 20 try scoring list.

A fantastic 80 metre run by Malcolm Webster after an intercept had previously sealed the win to keep the side in with a realistic chance of successfully progressing through to the end of season playoffs.

Captain Jason Clark once again led by example and the other players followed him bravely as the team battled against the odds to overpower the more fancied Eagles. Well done Rabbitohs!!!

The following NRL game started at a frenetic pace and an early double to Manly saw the Sea Eagles slip away to a 12-0 lead after only 12 minutes.

Not to be outdone though, the Rabbitohs came back strongly to post 3 tries in 7 minutes through Nathan Merritt, Fetuli Talanoa and debutant Chris McQueen who was touching down for his first try on debut and having a fine game to boot.

Another try to Beau Champion on the half hour mark gave the Bunnies a 22-12 lead and heading to half time a boilover seemed to be on the cards and it was an extremely entertaining and remarkable game at this point with Souths well and truly on top. Already five tries had been scored in less than 30 minutes and the second half promised supporters the prospect of many more.

At half time anyone who backed the Rabbitohs at the $4.25 on Sportstab would have been rubbing their hands together. I know I was!

It was going to take a big effort from Souths in the second half to withstand a Manly revival but a remote chance of still making the semis rested on the Bunnies putting their best rabbits feet collectively forward.

An arm wrestle ensued and the free-flowing football of the first half was replaced by a more rugged, close marking style and as the pendulum swung to both ends of the field early on, each side had the opportunity to register first points for the half.

Chris Sandow eventually opened the scoring with a penalty after 56 minutes to take the difference to two converted tries. At 24-12 the Rabbitohs were looking good, while the Sea Eagles appeared to be bickering amongst themselves.

A series of silly indiscretions shortly after from Souths saw Manly go downfield to post the first try of the half to peg back the lead and with 20 minutes to go but the Rabbitohs still held a handy 8 point lead. As usual, their try was scored while Issac Luke cooled his heels on the sideline.

At this point Captain Roy Asotasi left the field after becoming a passenger during the previous play and the Souths faithful collectively pondered his remaining input into the game. It appeared that a monstrous run by Roy that created the previous penalty had taken its toll and and would be his last for the season as he will now be destined to undergo a total knee reconstruction.

Both teams continued the struggle to put the game to bed and in the end a beautiful pass from Chris Sandow allowed Nathan Merritt to dive over though a clear path to increase Souths lead to 30 points to 16 with the ensuing conversion. At this stage nothing but a Rabbitohs victory appeared possible and it was simply by a matter of how far. By now my 19+ margin was looking a reality too.

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH YEAH!!!!!!........Beau Champion is put into a gap by a beautiful John Sutton pass and my extra booty from tonight rested at Chris Sandow’s feet with the following conversion. Never a problem and Souths streaked away to a 36-16 lead.

OOOOOOOOOOONNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!.......an unfortunate off side penalty from the kickoff gave Manly possession back in Souths territory and they then worked their way downfield to crash over under the posts and blow my extra $210 for the 19+ margin. Easy come, easy go but nonetheless a brilliant win and I did have 50 bucks on the win anyway.        

In the final washup it was a huge effort form every Rabbitoh player and to come away from Fortress Brookvale with a pair of wins will be something that every Souths supporter will remember for a long time to come. Not to mention the bragging rights that it also affords us all at work on Monday morning!

Next week is another acid-test with the game against the Titans at ANZ Stadium. The Rabbitohs will continue to walk the semi-finals tightrope and can’t afford any slip-ups form here on in.

Lets Go Rabbitohs!!!!