South Sydney Rabbitohs moved into third spot on the NRL table with a 31-10 victory over New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
South Sydney had the better of the opening of the first half, stretching out to a 14-point lead. Cameron Murray hit, spun and crawled to the opening try before Alex Johnston scored on his return from injury on the left-wing.
After Adam Reynolds had kicked a penalty, two tries in two minutes for the Warriors brought them back into the game just before the break. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck earned Adam Pompey his first NRL try with some good play. Then Kodi Nikorima’s break and kick led to Ken Maumalo’s 17th try of the season.
The Warriors weren’t able to keep their momentum in the second half. Two penalties from Reynolds opened the scoring before Cameron Murray’s second try and Dane Gagai’s score helped the Rabbitohs pull away to a comfortable victory.
Reynolds added a cherry on top with a last-minute field goal.
Warriors: Tuivasa-Sheck, Fusitu’a, Hiku, Pompey, Maumalo, Nikorima, Green, Paasi, Luke, Ah Mau, Blair, Papali’i, Tevaga; Interchanges: Burr, Lisone, Sao, Harris-Tavita
Tries: Pompey, Maumalo; Goals: Luke
Rabbitohs: Doueihi, Johnston, Graham, Gagai, Allan, Walker, Reynolds, S Burgess, Cook, Knight, Sutton, Su’A, Murray; Interchanges: Tatola, Turner, Lowe, Nicholls
Tries: Murray 2, Johnston, Gagai; Goals: Reynolds 7; Field goal: Reynolds (80)
Full match reports of all this weekend’s NRL games will feature in Monday’s League Express.