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Dragons dispose of spirited Souths
Matt Prior carries the ball. Photo: Chris Lane
NOT even the presence of Russell Crowe could inspire his South Sydney team to a finals-clinching win over minor premiers St George Illawarra at Jubilee Oval last night.
Crowe and Souths chief executive Shane Richardson stood in the in-goal watching the Rabbitohs players as they warmed up on the field after learning that they needed to beat the Dragons by five points to leapfrog Manly into eighth place following the Sea Eagles' 30-24 loss to Canterbury yesterday.
A win by five points or more would have secured Souths a replay of last night's match at Kogarah next Sunday afternoon, an achievement that had seemed unlikely two weeks ago when they were thrashed 54-18 by Penrith after trailing 40-0 at half-time.
But much to the disappointment of Crowe and the Rabbitohs faithful, who will now have to wait at least another season to end a 39-year premiership drought, Souths got off to a similar start to the one they did at CUA Stadium as the Dragons raced to an 18-0 lead through three Ben Creagh tries in the opening 17 minutes.
Despite a second-half fightback, the Rabbitohs were left to think of what could have been after a season that promised so much following the much-hyped recruitment of star forwards Dave Taylor and Sam Burgess to the club.
