Tag: South Sydney

What: NRL Round 2
Who: Manly Sea Eagles v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Result: Manly 14-12
When and Where: Friday March 14 – Bluetongue Stadium
Crowd: 15,120
Match Rating: 7/10

80 Minutes in 80 Seconds: Round two of the NRL season got off to a flier, with the Friday night blockbuster between the Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs certainly delivering. The first ten minutes were extremely intense, with Manly’s barnstorming runs, crunching tackles and expansive attacking play putting the Rabbits on the back foot. However, the game soon turned very sloppy, with both sides turning over possession all too easily – onlookers would have been forgiven for thinking the ball was covered in soap. Despite coach Geoff Toovey branding his team “underdogs” coming into the match, the Sea Eagles came out flying, crossing over in the corner in the seventh minute through extradited Eel Cheyse Blair. After being kept quiet in an arm wrestle between two monstrous forward packs, the Rabbitohs finally crossed the line following a large break from flier Nathan Merritt, which ultimately led to a try for centre Beau Champion. As the momentum of the game shifted from side to side, not only due to the constant change of possession, but the tough battle in the middle, it was down to the great footwork of Jamie Buhrer breaking the Rabbitohs’ wall of defence and offloading to a free-running Cherry Evans to seal the game for the Eagles in the 64th minute. The match was the full package, with tensions boiling between the Burgess brothers and returning Eagles hard-man Jason King, referee controversies, and some of what we all love about the game so much – that hard-fought, blue-collar brawl between two gritty forward packs. Continue reading “Eagles Clip Bunnies 14-12” →