South Sydney Rabbitohs edged Brisbane Broncos 22-20 in an absolute thriller at Suncorp that saw two ex-Broncos in the Rabbitohs line-up sin binned.
With James Roberts off the field for a needless forearm smash on Corey Oates, Adam Reynolds opened the scoring with a penalty before Dane Gagai’s try gave Souths an 8-0 lead.
David Fifita’s solo try got the Broncos back in the game just before half-time before Isaako’s penalty levelled the scores after the break.
With Jaydn Su’A now in the sin bin for a similar indiscretion to Roberts on Alex Glenn, the Bunnies kicked a penalty to hit the front again.
Two amazing tries for Souths gave them a big lead in the final quarter. A break from Cook, with Reynolds supporting, saw Cody Walker score before Gagai broke to set up Cook for a deserved try.
Fifita’s second try gave Brisbane hope with 13 minutes to go then Matt Gillett’s brilliant offload set up Kotoni Staggs with three minutes left as Brisbane got back within two points.
But despite some intense pressure from the Broncos in the final moments, Souths were able to hold on.
Broncos: Milford, Isaako, Staggs, Glenn, Oates, Boyd, O’Sullivan, Lodge, McCullough, Haas, Fifita, Gillett, Ofahengaue; Interchanges: Segeyaro, Flegler, Shibasaki, Carrigan
Tries: Fifita 2, Staggs; Goals: Isaako 4
Rabbitohs: Doueihi, Gagai, Roberts, Allan, Graham, Walker, Reynolds, Tatola, Cook, Knight, Sutton, Su’A, Murray; Interchanges: Nicholls, Britt, Amone, Sironen
Tries: Gagai, Walker, Cook; Goals: Reynolds 5
Sin bin: Roberts (14) – use of forearm, Su’A (49) – use of forearm
On report: Roberts (14) – use of forearm, Su’A (49) – use of forearm
Full match reports of all this weekend’s NRL games will feature in Monday’s League Express.
