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  1. #1
    Tech Administrator Tamwelg's Avatar
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    Default Round 21: Rabbitohs vs Knights



     vs 
    RabbitohsKnights

    Sun 3 Aug, 3:00PM Barlow Park


    Greg Inglis
    Alex Johnston
    Kirisome Auva'a
    Dylan Walker
    Bryson Goodwin
    John Sutton
    Adam Reynolds
    George Burgess
    Issac Luke
    David Tyrrell
    Kyle Turner
    Ben Te'o
    Sam Burgess
     
    Luke Keary
    Ben Lowe
    Jason Clark
    Thomas Burgess
    Michael Maguire
    Fullback
    Wing
    Centre
    Centre
    Wing
    Five-eighth
    Halfback
    Prop
    Hooker
    Prop
    Second Row
    Second Row
    Lock
     
    Interchange
    Interchange
    Interchange
    Interchange
    Coach
    Sione Mata'utia
    Jake Mamo
    Dane Gagai
    Joey Leilua
    Chanel Mata'utia
    Kurt Gidley
    Tyrone Roberts
    Kade Snowden
    Adam Clydsdale
    Willie Mason
    Beau Scott
    Robbie Rochow
    Jeremy Smith
     
    Travis Waddell
    Korbin Sims
    Adam Cuthbertson
    David Fa'alogo
    Wayne Bennett

  2. #2
    Super Moderator TITAN PETE's Avatar
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    Rabbitohs v Knights preview
    By Chris Kennedy, National Correspondent
    NRL.com
    12:25pm Wed 30th July, 2014




    Rabbitohs v Knights
    Barlow Park, Cairns
    Sunday, 3pm

    They may be at opposite ends of the ladder but both the Rabbitohs and Knights will take winning form up to Cairns for this Sunday afternoon clash.

    And while the second-placed Rabbitohs may have clinically disposed of a poor Raiders outfit on Monday night, 14th-placed Newcastle claimed a far bigger scalp last Friday with a last-gasp win over defending premiers the Roosters.

    There have been too many upsets already this year for Newcastle's 16-12 win at home to even appear on the podium of biggest boilovers, but given their massive injury toll it was a remarkable performance.

    Their back three went into the side with just five games of NRL experience in total – all of those coming from rookie winger Jake Mamo, with brothers Sione Mata'utia at fullback and Chanel Mata'utia on the wing making their debuts together. The trio were admirable in covering for the far more experienced Darius Boyd (absent – personal issues), Akuila Uate (knee) and James McManus (ankle).

    With captain and hooker or halfback Kurt Gidley ruled out with a groin issue, they lost five-eighth and senior playmaker Jarrod Mullen to an abdominal strain halfway through the game, placing even more pressure on halfback Tyrone Roberts, who produced one of the best performances of his young career to see the Knights home.

    He will have skipper Kurt Gidley back alongside him this week, returning at five-eighth in a straight swap for Mullen in the only change. Last week's rookie back three each get another run with none of their more senior counterparts returning.

    The Rabbitohs may have steamrolled a woeful Raiders outfit down in Canberra on Monday but the win comes at a cost, with captain and five-eighth John Sutton (medial strain) ruled out for at least a fortnight and possibly as long as six weeks.
    Origin back-rower Ben Te'o has been rubbed out for a week following his dangerous throw on Jarrod Croker, and Sam Burgess has been named despite leaving the field with a shoulder injury on Monday.

    Get your ticket to NRL Round 21

    Watch Out Rabbitohs: Pressure can do interesting things to professional sportspeople. It can be crippling, or it can help them reach new heights. Fortunately for Newcastle, young halfback Tyrone Roberts seems to be firmly in the latter camp. Against the premiers last Friday, with no other Knights playmakers within cooee of the field of play, Roberts produced a deft pass to send Beau Scott into space then supported to score the try that drew his team level, then supported a Willie Mason line break to earn a brace. But the piece de resistance, with just two minutes remaining and his side trailing by two points, was a deft grubber for Joey Leilua's match-winner. With Gidley back this week Roberts won't have as much pressure on him but should be riding a wave of confidence after last week's efforts.

    Watch Out Knights: Much has been made of the vaunted Rabbitohs pack and its battery of Burgesses, but there are few players in the NRL in better form than young centre Dylan Walker. In his past four games he hasn't run for fewer than 160 metres, or broken fewer than six tackles. Overall he has 66 tackle breaks this year from 15 games, making him ninth overall, and most of the players ahead of him have played more games. Since moving from five-eighth to centre he has run over 100 metres in nine of 12 games and also has nine tries, six try assists and 10 line break assists. Those stats don't include his superb efforts in this year's City v Country fixture and at just 19 he looks to have a long representative future ahead of him.

    Plays To Watch: Tackle-busting Knights centre Joey Leilua can have a bit of 'rocks-or-diamonds' about him but when he gets it right he can be a real handful. His massive charge last week led to Willie Mason's line break for Roberts' try that broke a 6-all deadlock before he scored the late match-winner. When his confidence is up he can create something out of nothing so keep an eye out for some strong early runs which could indicate he's in for a big one.

    For the Rabbitohs, we get another look at the Reynolds-Keary halves combination that Maguire had originally earmarked for Round 1. With no Sutton around as a fall-back option Reynolds should take the bulk of the kicking and organising duties with Keary supporting and providing some spark.

    Where It Will Be Won: Defensive sets. And more specifically, how the Knights contain the Rabbitohs. While these sides each inflict around 34 missed tackles per week on their opponents – making them the two best tackle-busting sides in the competition – the Rabbitohs miss just 20 of their own to make them the best in the comp while the Knights miss 34 per game to make them second worst. Each of these sides also run for around 1450 metres per week but while Newcastle concede a competition third-worst 1507 metres per game, the Bunnies are letting opponents run just 1389 metres per game – making them fourth best.

    The History: Played 35; Rabbitohs 10, Knights 25.The long-form history certainly favours the Knights, with the Bunnies winning just three of their first 22 meetings against the Novocastrians. They have all the recent momentum though with six wins in their past nine against the Knights, including the past three on the bounce – you have to go back to September 2011 for a Newcastle win over South Sydney.
    This will be the second NRL game hosted by Barlow Park – the first was won by South Sydney against the Titans last year.

    What Are The Odds: Two-thirds of the hold is with the Rabbitohs ($1.32) in this one, however Sportsbet is receiving more individual bets on outsiders Newcastle ($3.40). The Knights are proving three times as popular in line betting, receiving 9.5. Latest odds at Sportsbet.com.au.

    Match Officials: Referees – Adam Devcich & Henry Perenara; Touch Judges – Michael Wise & Adam Reid; Video Referees – Steve Chiddy & Paul Mellor.

    Televised: Channel Nine – Delayed, 4pm.

    The Way We See It: Both sides have shown some pretty decent form of late and have been hit by a few significant injuries, and the venue shouldn't really favour either side. The Knights have shocked a few tipsters of late – they've won four of their past five and the only loss in that run, at home to the Titans in the RiseForAlex Round, was also the only one of those they were widely expected to win. If they can reproduce last week's giant-killing form they're a chance again but we'll play it safe and go with the Bunnies to make it three clinical wins on the trot. Rabbitohs by 12.
    #itaintweaktospeak

  3. #3
    Super Moderator TITAN PETE's Avatar
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    Rabbitohs kids crush hapless Knights
    By Tony Webeck, Chief Queensland Correspondent
    NRL.com
    5:00pm Sun 03rd August, 2014

    South Sydney's premiership aspirations have exploded into life on the back of a three-quarter line of youthful speedsters who repeatedly had their way with the Knights in racking up a massive 50-10 win at Barlow Park in Cairns.

    Baby Bunnies benefit from Inglis lessons

    Despite going into the clash without Sam Burgess, captain John Sutton and suspended Origin representative Ben Te'o, the Rabbitohs' backs scored eight of their team's 10 tries to set up a tantalising showdown with competition front-runners Manly Warringah at the Sydney Cricket Ground next Friday night.

    While the most rigorous activity rugby-bound Burgess put his injured right shoulder through was the signing of a multitude of autographs for the appreciative North Queensland crowd, names such as Reynolds, Keary, Walker, Johnston and Auva'a showed that there is now a potency out wide that critics suggested had been responsible for their finals fade-outs in the past two seasons.

    A crowd of 11,570 predominantly parochial South Sydney fans were treated to a somewhat muted start by both teams before Kirisome Auva'a broke the deadlock in the 13th minute and then the Rabbitohs piled on three tries in a 10-minute period to take a 26-0 lead into the break.

    With a gusty tropical breeze at their backs, the Rabbitohs took full advantage of a dominant kicking display by Adam Reynolds in the opening stanza as he kicked his third 40/20 of the season in the 37th minute, paving the way for Chris McQueen to score in his return from injury to the top grade.

    The Rabbitohs got their first opportunity in Knights territory on the back of a penalty in the 13th minute and a couple of tackles later a sweeping play to the left culminated in Auva'a bursting through an attempted tackle by Dane Gagai and Chanel Mata'utia, fending off Tyrone Roberts and beating the cover defending tackle of Sione Mata'utia to score in the corner.

    As the Knights continually struggled to work their way out of their own half with just 41 per cent of possession, Issac Luke sparked a smart blind-side play in the 21st minute after the Newcastle clearing kick failed to make it into enemy territory.

    Luke toyed with the retreating Knights markers before finding Joe Picker in support, who showed good hands to quickly pass to Dylan Walker who threw an overhead pass to an unmarked Lote Tuqiri who powered over the attempt of Kurt Gidley to score.

    Alex Johnston brought the crowd to their feet with a searching run in the 24th minute from a kick return and four minutes late on the back of another penalty and long kick from Adam Reynolds. Thomas Burgess was controversially awarded a try by referee Adam Devcich that on replay suggested he had lost control in reaching out under the posts.

    But there was no consultation with the video referees and Reynolds landed his first successful conversion of the afternoon to give the Bunnies a handy 14-0 advantage.

    If that try was controversial the next in the 33rd minute was downright spectacular. Reynolds chanced his hand with a chip over the Knights defence from 20 metres out with the mistrustful Steeden evading everyone but the boot of McQueen. His instinctive lunge with his leg saw the ball cannon out to the right and into the arms of Dylan Walker 10m out from the tryline and with his raw speed cut back on the angle to weave his way under the posts untouched.

    McQueen scored the final try of the half running a nice line off a Luke Keary pass and then had a hand in the first of the second half when he again ran off a Keary short ball before finding captain Greg Inglis in support to extend the lead to 32 points three minutes into the second half.

    And if Souths weren't making life hard enough for the Novocastrians even Mother Nature deserted them in their 40 minutes of need, the strong breeze dropping to a whisper if not completely changing direction upon the resumption.

    The Knights finally managed to exert some pressure by earning a repeat set eight minutes into the second half and one of Newcastle's bright young things made them pay with Jake Mamo crossing acrobatically in the corner to get his side off the dreaded duck.

    Walker then committed the cardinal sin of failing to find the playing field with the restart and the Knights went back-to-back when the video referee over-ruled a 'no try' ruling against replacement hooker Adam Clydsdale after a dart from dummy-half.

    Newcastle's time to shine however proved to be short-lived when an error coming out of their end handed the Rabbitohs an opportunity to hit back, one they gladly took courtesy of quick hands and the lightning-fast feet of Johnston who crossed for his 12th try in 10 first grade games.

    Twelve became 14 in the space of 10 minutes when Auva'a picked up the scraps from a Beau Scott dropped ball and sent Johnston on an unimpeded 70m run to the tryline and then the 19-year-old was on the end of a well-worked backline set play from a scrum that pushed the Bunnies to within reach of the half century mark with eight minutes still to play.

    Auva'a was the one to have the honour of bringing up 50 when Walker carved his way through the middle of the Knights defence from his own side of halfway before putting a kick into the corner for the 22-year-old to get his sixth of the season.

    South Sydney Rabbitohs 50 (Alex Johnston 3, Kirisome Auva'a 2, Lote Tuqiri, Thomas Burgess, Dylan Walker, Chris McQueen, Greg Inglis tries; Adam Reynolds 5 goals) def. Newcastle Knights 10 (Jake Mamo, Adam Clydsdale tries; Kurt Gidley goal). Crowd: 11,570. Half-time: Rabbitohs 26-0.
    #itaintweaktospeak

  4. #4
    Super Moderator TITAN PETE's Avatar
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    Bunnies credentials debateable: Bennett
    By Tony Webeck, Chief Queensland Correspondent
    NRL.com
    7:00pm Sun 03rd August, 2014




    His captain said they were blown off the park but Knights coach Wayne Bennett has questioned whether South Sydney have the necessary variety in their ****nal to break through for a 21st premiership that will be 43 years in the making.

    The Rabbitohs' exciting array of young talent tore the Knights to shreds in Cairns on Sunday as they posted 50 points for the first time since Round 10 last season but Bennett insisted that nothing they threw at his side came as a surprise.

    The criticism of the Rabbitohs in falling one game short of the Grand Final the past two seasons is that they haven't asked enough questions of the defence of the top sides outside their renowned power game and Bennett says it is still an aspect of their credentials as a premiership team that is up for debate.

    "Well it didn't work for them last year in the end, so it's debateable," Bennett said when asked whether South Sydney have all the tools necessary to win a premiership. "They were good today so that's all you can take and the other team's got to stop that.

    "There's not a coach in the NRL that doesn't know how they're going to play and you've got to be able to stop that, that's the key to them. If no one can stop them then they can certainly win the premiership. They've got enough strike power and enough ability in that team and they've got a pretty hardened footy team that's been doing it for three or four years now so there's a fair bit of confidence in them when they play like they did today."

    Taking a 26-0 lead into half-time on the back of a perfect completion rate and a pinpoint kicking game from halfback Adam Reynolds, the Rabbitohs refused to allow the Knights into the game and in the second half continued their assault.

    Dylan Walker, Alex Johnston and Kirisome Auva'a all scored spectacular tries that only the youthful and exuberant can conjure but Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley said it was the dominance in the middle that proved most irresistible.

    "We knew what was coming. They've got a big forward pack, renowned for that and we were ready for that, we thought," said Gidley.

    "We didn't have a great deal of field position in the first half at all, we had some decent kicks but the kick-off sets after tries, they were making 60 metres. Even when we were kicking into corners they were making yardage past halfway and we know as a team when we're playing well we're defending well, we've got good line speed and we're keeping them in their own half in that set and we wouldn't have achieved that a great deal today."

    The Rabbitohs spent 50 minutes of the match in Newcastle's half on the back of an additional 805 running metres than their opponents but will face a much stiffer proposition against the ladder-leading Sea Eagles at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday night.

    According to Bennett, South Sydney will bring the same game-plan to tackle Geoff Toovey's men and if their execution is close to what it was on Sunday, will set up a thrilling minor premiership showdown over the final month.

    "Souths aren't going to change. As Kurt alluded to, there wasn't one of us in that changeroom that didn't know at any stage what they were going to throw at us and how they were going to do it, and that's their challenge," said the seven-time grand final-winning mentor.

    "They do it every week the same way, if a team's good enough to stand up to them well that puts them under pressure; we couldn't stand up to it and we couldn't handle their pressure, another day we might have.

    "They play similar to the Roosters and we handled the Roosters OK last week, believe it or not. They run hard and they tackle in numbers and they'll keep doing it for the full 80 minutes."
    #itaintweaktospeak


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