Gosford Stadium
Sat Feb 23, 7:30pm
WIN 44-0
Rabbitohs Head Coach Jason Taylor declared he was very happy with his side’s pre-season form following their 44-0 defeat of the Cronulla Sharks tonight. The South Sydney attack clicked into top gear early in the game and the Rabbitohs little men, Issac Luke, Eddie Paea, Craig Wing and Beau Falloon constantly tormented the Sharks defence. The Rabbitohs scored eight four pointers in all led by backrower Ben Lowe with two tries and rounded out by Wing’s first try in the red and green since 1999. “It was a really good performance,” Taylor said. “We came here with some things we wanted to work on and commit ourselves to and we did that tonight. We wanted to practice them for the full 80 minutes and we did that because the scoreboard kept ticking over.” With competition strong for spots across the board Taylor said he would have some selection headaches ahead of the 25th Charity Shield against the Dragons this Saturday night. “In years gone by players didn’t necessarily have to earn their first grade spots here but that was something we changed last year and it is continuing into 2008. A lot of guys put in some strong performances tonight. It is a great place to be in for the club.” Last season’s rookie of the year Issac Luke opening the scoring in just the fourth minute when he scooted over from 10m out following a strong Michael Greenfield charge. The Kiwi-born hooker converted his own try for a 6-0 lead. With the Rabbitohs dominating up front Ben Lowe then scored his first try of the pre-season game in the 12th minute and Luke again converted to stretch the lead to 12-0. Young winger Sam Huihahau crossed just four minutes later when he found himself on the end of a smooth backline movement to make it 16-0. Ben Lowe crossed for his second try in the 25th minute and the Rabbitohs were ahead 20-0. As the Gosford night began to cool that is the way things stayed until the half-time break. Wing made his return in the red and green in the second half at halfback but Rabbitohs fans had to wait until the 54th minute to cheer another South Sydney try. Rabbitohs junior Beau Falloon darted over from dummy half in similar fashion to Luke in the first half and when Paea converted the Rabbitohs lead had jumped out to 26-0. Strike centre Yileen Gordon was elusive with the ball in hand throughout the night and a 60m bust from him led to Michael Greenfield’s try. Hooker George Ndaira converted to make it 32-0. With two referees controlling the action before a crowd of 6,056, fullback Beau Champion then forced his way over after the Rabbitohs worked a nice short side second man play in the 67th minute, Paea converted to put Souths led at 38-0. Then an angled run close to the Sharks try line from Wing resulted in the Rabbitohs eighth and final try of the night. Ndaira again converted for the final scoreline of 44-0. In a promising display the Rabbitohs were strong across the park as their attack, pinpointed as their Achilles heel in 2007 by Taylor, came together well. Taylor made numerous changes throughout the game and whoever was in the playmaking role, Jeremy Smith, Ben Rogers, Eddie Paea or Craig Wing, looked comfortable. The Rabbitohs were not often tested by the Sharks attack but when they were the solid defensive foundation they created in 2007 looked to be there again in 2008. And up front, with Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell watching on from the sideline, the Rabbitohs put in a powerful showing.
4 min 6-0 11 min 12-0 15 min 16-0 25 min 20-0 54 min 26-0 62 min 32-0 67 min 38-0 78 min 44-0 Crowd 6,056 Referee Luke, B.Lowe 2, Hiuhahau, Falloon, Greenfield, Champion, Wing tries Luke 2 from 4, Paea 2 from 2, Ndaira 2from 2 goals Other FG Trials 34-28 SFS Sydney b Wests Tigers 30-22 Cair Gold Coast b Nth Qld 40-30 Woll St Geo-Ill b Bulldogs 30-28 Albu Penrith b Parramatta 32-16 Oran Canberra b Brisbane 26-10 Hali Melbourne b Halifax 50-0 Otah Warriors b Auckland Vulcans
NYC U20 Trial
v Cronulla, 5:30pm
LOSS 14-26
Match was played in 4 20 minute quarters
4 min 0-6 9 min 4-6 14 min 4-12 17 min 4-16 46 min 8-16 72 min 8-22 75 min 14-22 79 min 14-26 Joseph, Moli, Takairangi tries Ingram 1 from 1, Sandow 0 from 2 goals.
Reserve Grade - NSWRL NSW Cup Trial
v Cronulla Cobras, 4:00pm
DRAW 12-12
Match was played in 3rds, 2 by 30 min one by 20 min. The Bears NSW Cup side continued their pre-season trials with a match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Cobras. A tough defensive match, the Bears showed good skills under pressure. A particular highlight was a heroic individual try from hooker Matt Hunt pushing trough the Cobras forward pack to score. Final score 12 all
24 min 0-6 59 min 6-6 65 min 12-6 70 min 12-12 Corrigan, Hunt tries Russell 2 from 2 goals
NSWRL U18 SG Ball Cup - Round 2
v Canberra, Seiffort Oval, 11;30m
WIN 46-24
Reynolds 2, Segeiaro 2, Morgan, Webster, K.Pettybourne, B.Barnes tries
Reynolds 5, Kheirallah 2 goals
Other U18 Matches
42-8 Koga Canterbury b St George
34-16 Conc Penrth b Wests
24-24 Blax Cronulla d Central Coast
30-28 Ring WSyd Acad b North Sydney
40-12 Cabr Parramatta b Balmain
36-34 Conc Sydney - Gold Coast
38-10 Lake Newcastle - Manly
W D L B Diff PT
CANTERBURY 2 - - - +80 4
PARRAMATTA 2 - - - +38 4
ILLAWARRA 1 - - 1 +28 4
NEWCASTLE 1 - - 1 +28 4
Penrith 2 - - - +20 4
WSyd Academy 2 - - - +3 4
Sydney 1 - - 1 +2 4
Souths 1 - 1 - +20 2
Canberra 1 - 1 - +4 2
Cronulla - 2 - - 0 2
Manly - - 1 1 -28 2
Gold Coast - 1 1 - -2 1
Central Coast - 1 1 - -26 1
Wests - - 2 - -19 -
St George - - 2 - -44 -
Norths - - 2 - -48 -
Balmain - - 2 - -56 -
NSWRL U16 Harold Mathews - Round 2
v Canberra, 10:00am
LOSS 20-28
Akauola, Mahe, Leehang, Roberts tries
Endemann 2 goals
Other U16 Matches
18-18 Koga Canterbury d St George
44-12 Conc Penrth b Wests
42-8 Blax Cronulla d Central Coast
14-10 Ring W Syd Acad b North Sydney
26-0 Cabr Parramatta b Balmain
44-4 Conc Syd Rsters b SW Syd Academy
30-16 Lake Newcastle b Manly
W D L B Diff PT
PARRAMATTA 2 - - - +74 4
CRONULLA 2 - - - +56 4
PENRITH 2 - - - +44 4
SYDNEY 1 - - 1 +40 4
Illawarra 1 - - 1 +18 4
Newcastle 1 - - 1 +14 4
Canberra 1 - 1 - +4 2
Canterbury - 2 - - 0 2
WSyd Acad 1 - 1 - -12 2
Manly - - 1 1 -14 2
Wests 1 - 1 - -16 2
Central Coast 1 - 1 - -32 2
Norths - 1 1 - -4 1
St George - 1 1 - -48 1
Souths - - 2 - -20 -
Balmain - - 2 - -44 -
SWSyd Acad - - 2 - -62 -