SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 22 BRISBANE BRONCOS 14
TOM SMITH, Accor Stadium, Friday
LATRELL MITCHELL carried South Sydney to a stunning comeback win over Brisbane on his return from suspension.
Mitchell booted the match-winning two-point field-goal in the 78th minute then added a last-gasp try for good measure, after pulling off two try-saving tackles at the back.
The mercurial fullback helped his club reel in a 14-0 half-time deficit with 22 unanswered points after the break — including 14 to the man of the hour.
By contrast, Mitchell’s opposite number Selwyn Cobbo struggled to fill Reece Walsh’s boots, with the Broncos’ regular fullback sidelined by a knee complaint.
A hamstring injury to Ben Hunt further soured the Broncos’ night, throwing a spanner into Queensland’s State of Origin plans, but Payne Haas appeared to overcome an early back complaint.
Wayne Bennett continued his recent hoodoo over Michael Maguire, making it eleven wins from their last twelve meetings — a streak dating back to when the two coaches stood in the opposite camp.
The result ends Souths’ four-game losing streak, and continues Brisbane’s frustratingly inconsistent start to 2025.
As well as Mitchell, Bennett welcomed back half Jamie Humphreys (hamstring), while Siliva Havili replaced injured hooker Peter Mamouzelos (elbow).
Humphreys’ return forced St Helens recruit Lewis Dodd back onto the bench — just one in a major positional reshuffle the master coach swung after the Magic Round loss to Newcastle.
Maguire’s only change to the 17 that fell to a Nathan Cleary-inspired Penrith last Sunday was adding Fletcher Baker (knee) at the expense of Jaiyden Hunt.
Bunnies winger Bayleigh Bentley-Hape denied the dangerous Deine Mariner early, but there was no stopping Jordan Riki moments later.
Hunt launched a bomb onto the head of Kotoni Staggs, who linked up with Mariner to send their second-rower over the stripe.
An offside penalty gave ex-Rabbitoh Adam Reynolds two points with the kicking tee.
Mitchell’s diligence at the back prevented Hunt from finishing an end-to-end team try, however he was powerless to stop Mariner in the right corner, courtesy of some lightning-fast hands.
When Reynolds drilled that difficult sideline conversion, the Queenslanders carried a 14-point advantage to the sheds.
But the second half was entirely cardinal and myrtle.
Havili kick-started the comeback by burrowing through three white jumpers from dummy-half.
Then Isaiah Tass created something out of nothing, bumping off Staggs and combining with outside man Fletcher Myers to score.
Now trailing by just two, the Bunnies again had Mitchell to thank for depriving Mariner of his second with an around-the-legs try-saver in the right corner.
A Xavier Willison penalty invited Mitchell to square the scoreboard 14-apiece with ten minutes to play.
Then with two minutes on the the clock, and rain pounding the turf, the talismanic fullback drilled a 50-metre field-goal to clinch the lead.
And Mitchell put an exclamation point on a statement performance by fooling the Broncos defenders on the stroke of full-time.
GAMESTAR: When Latrell Mitchell is in this sort of mood, he is one of the NRL’s premier players.
GAMEBREAKER: With the scores locked 14-all with two minutes remaining, Mitchell booted the deadlock-breaking field-goal from 50 metres out.
MATCHFACTS
RABBITOHS
1 Latrell Mitchell
2 Bayleigh Bentley-Hape
3 Isaiah Tass
4 Campbell Graham
5 Fletcher Myers
6 Jayden Sullivan
7 Jamie Humphreys
8 Jai Arrow
9 Siliva Havili
10 Keaon Koloamatangi
11 Euan Aitken
12 Tallis Duncan
13 Lachlan Hubner
Suns (all used)
14 Jye Gray
15 Sean Keppie
16 Davvy Moale
17 Liam Le Blanc
Tries: Havili (43), Tass (52), Mitchell (80)
Goals: Mitchell 4/4
Two-point field-goals: Mitchell (78)
BRONCOS
1 Selwyn Cobbo
2 Deine Mariner
3 Kotoni Staggs
4 Gehamat Shibasaki
5 Jesse Arthars
6 Ben Hunt
7 Adam Reynolds
8 Patrick Carrigan
9 Billy Walters
10 Payne Haas
12 Jordan Riki
16 Brendan Piakura
13 Kobe Hetherington
Subs (all used)
11 Xavier Willison
14 Cory Paix
15 Corey Jensen
17 Fletcher Baker
Tries: Riki (15), Mariner (35)
Goals: Reynolds 3/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-8, 0-14; 6-14, 12-14, 14-14, 16-14, 22-14
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Rabbitohs: Latrell Mitchell; Broncos: Payne Haas
Penalty count: 7-6
Half-time: 0-14
Referee: Peter Gough
Attendance: 13,747
