The South Sydney Rabbitohs have completed a stunning end-of-season surge to claim the New South Wales Cup premiership — and end a 40-year drought.
The Rabbitohs sat eighth 10th in a 13-team competition at the halfway mark before winning 10 of their last 12 games to not only force their way into the top five, but finish second.
They stunned minor premiers, North Sydney Bears 30-24 in the qualifying final to earn a week off and then met them again in the grand final last Sunday.
It was 12-all at half time before the Bunnies took a four-pont lead in the 51st minute. The Bears hit back 17 minutes later with a converted try to edge ahead by two points and looked as though they were going to hold Souths out.
That was until Blake Taaffe set up 18-year-old winger Tyrone Munro to score the matchwinner with five minutes to go. NSW Cup Player of the Year Dean Hawkins converted the try to seal a 22-18 result.
The Bulldogs-bound Taaffe finished his time with the Rabbitohs on a high, being crowned player of the match. The 24-year-old recorded a try assist, linebreak assist and 99 running metres in the win, while his short kicking game caused some head aches for the Bears too.
Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson topped the game with 213 running metres while also finishing with a try assist and linebreak assist but it was the Rabbitohs’ pack that really stood up.
Shaquai Mitchell scored South Sydney’s first try and was enormous on both sides of the ball with a linebreak, four tackle busts, 131 metres and 25 tackles — one miss.
Second-rower Ethan O’Neill also scored, while Matt French — a member of the Rabbitohs’ 2019 Jersey Flegg premiership-winning side with Taaffe and Lachlan Ilias — provided plenty of spark off the bench finishing with 186 metres and 19 tackles, two misses.
Lebanon international Jaxson Rahme made 100 running metres and was rock-solid in defence with 27 tackles — including a one-on-one bone-cruncher late in the game — with no misses.
The Bears had a number of big performances too headlined by Zach Dockar-Clay’s captain’s knock. The 28-year-old lock finished with 157 metres, five tackle busts and a game-high of 40 tackles, no misses.
Dockar-Clay made his long-awaited NRL debut last season with the Bulldogs but wasn’t retained. He joined the Bears this year and had a stint training full-time with the Roosters.
Terrell May, who played 17 NRL games this year for the Roosters, wasn’t far behind him with 171 running metres, and 20 tackles, one miss.
Second-rower Reuben Porter scored a try, got a linebreak, five tackle busts, ran 77 metres and made 35 tackles with zero misses, while Fletcher Baker was reliable off the bench with 23 tackles — no misses.
The Rabbitohs will now face Queensland Cup champions Brisbane Tigers in the State Premiership on NRL Grand Final day.
The Rabbitohs sat eighth 10th in a 13-team competition at the halfway mark before winning 10 of their last 12 games to not only force their way into the top five, but finish second.
They stunned minor premiers, North Sydney Bears 30-24 in the qualifying final to earn a week off and then met them again in the grand final last Sunday.
It was 12-all at half time before the Bunnies took a four-pont lead in the 51st minute. The Bears hit back 17 minutes later with a converted try to edge ahead by two points and looked as though they were going to hold Souths out.
That was until Blake Taaffe set up 18-year-old winger Tyrone Munro to score the matchwinner with five minutes to go. NSW Cup Player of the Year Dean Hawkins converted the try to seal a 22-18 result.
The Bulldogs-bound Taaffe finished his time with the Rabbitohs on a high, being crowned player of the match. The 24-year-old recorded a try assist, linebreak assist and 99 running metres in the win, while his short kicking game caused some head aches for the Bears too.
Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson topped the game with 213 running metres while also finishing with a try assist and linebreak assist but it was the Rabbitohs’ pack that really stood up.
Shaquai Mitchell scored South Sydney’s first try and was enormous on both sides of the ball with a linebreak, four tackle busts, 131 metres and 25 tackles — one miss.
Second-rower Ethan O’Neill also scored, while Matt French — a member of the Rabbitohs’ 2019 Jersey Flegg premiership-winning side with Taaffe and Lachlan Ilias — provided plenty of spark off the bench finishing with 186 metres and 19 tackles, two misses.
Lebanon international Jaxson Rahme made 100 running metres and was rock-solid in defence with 27 tackles — including a one-on-one bone-cruncher late in the game — with no misses.
The Bears had a number of big performances too headlined by Zach Dockar-Clay’s captain’s knock. The 28-year-old lock finished with 157 metres, five tackle busts and a game-high of 40 tackles, no misses.
Dockar-Clay made his long-awaited NRL debut last season with the Bulldogs but wasn’t retained. He joined the Bears this year and had a stint training full-time with the Roosters.
Terrell May, who played 17 NRL games this year for the Roosters, wasn’t far behind him with 171 running metres, and 20 tackles, one miss.
Second-rower Reuben Porter scored a try, got a linebreak, five tackle busts, ran 77 metres and made 35 tackles with zero misses, while Fletcher Baker was reliable off the bench with 23 tackles — no misses.
The Rabbitohs will now face Queensland Cup champions Brisbane Tigers in the State Premiership on NRL Grand Final day.
