South Sydney v North Queensland - June 7, 2010. ANZ Stadium.
The surface here still looks like a mud pile. Probably means a messy game.
2nd minute - How big is Dave Taylor? I can't believe human beings like this actually exist.
5th minute - Ben Lowe drops a shoulder on Will Tupou, nice hit. Souths really are finding their personality lately: as a team that hits hard and loves the hard work. Lowe's shot has the desired effect and forces an error from the Cowboys.
7th minute - Sam Burgess a handful already tonight. His intention obvious as he runs straight at Jonathan Thurston and draws a million Cowboys defenders trying to cover their captain and defend their line. This leaves a huge gap in front of Nathan Merritt who scores in the corner from the next ruck. Souths 4-0.
11th minute - Welcome back to 1st grade Carl Webb. He gives away a penalty by shoving Dave Taylor whilst Taylor is on the ground - god knows why. Souths almost score from the next set, they have all the ball.
13th minute - North Queensland are in trouble here. Every play run by Souths is finding space. One of these gaps leads to the try line for big Dave Taylor who bounces off a couple of would-be defenders to score. Souths 8-0.
Thought - The Cowboys look to be in trouble early and one wonders about the ramifications of a poor season (which this looks like turning out to be) for coach Neil Henry. Henry resigned his position from the QLD origin coaching staff to focus on his club commitments, the Cowboys have just re-signed JT which would not leave a lot of room to buy further talent.... and they are sitting near the bottom of the ladder. All this combined leads to a bad end of year review from management up in Townsville. They have players back from injury and a solid roster; CEO Peter Parr will want answers.
17th minute - Webb continues his imaginary battle with Dave Taylor, this time charging up to put a shot on the big Rabbitohs 2nd rower. He ends up grabbing nothing. How the mighty have fallen. (more on the shelf life of a league player later)
19th minute - Burgess creating more problems defensively for JT. This time Luke O'Donnell comes over to help out but tries too hard to slow down the ruck. Penalty. Souths are winning the little battles.
23rd minute - Great try saving tackle from Colin Best. The Cowboys denied a good chance to claw back into this match. It’s amazing the number of momentum swings in matches these days. Fortunes can change quickly in Rugby League.
Note - NSW Origin selector Laurie Daley has joined the pay TV commentary team. I wonder what damage he just finished doing to my Origin hopes and dreams.... I would find out in approximately 17 minutes.
26th minute - Chris Sandow puts a nice hit on Anthony Watts. Watts has been a spark for the struggling Cowboys this season but Sandow turns out the light on this occasion.
28th minute - Another good hit up from Taylor. He has been fantastic this year and this backs Russel Crowe's decision to sack Jason Taylor and replace him with John Lang. Lang has brought out the best in many Souths players who were thought to be inconsistent, or not up to 1st grade standard. Is it just me or are the bunnies starting to look like the Panthers premiership team from 2003? Lang has a formula that works.
Beau Champion scores after some good lead up work from everybody. They are playing as a unit and blowing the Cowboys off the field. Isaac Luke misses his third conversion though. Souths lead 12-0.
35th minute - Seeing Willie Mason taking big, powerful hit ups and making line breaks sure does bring back some memories.
37th minute - Souths cough it up and JT has some room to counter attack. Beau Champion (looking a little bit like Ryan Girdler) intercepts the JT pass and runs 40m to score.
It’s amazing how much they are designed like the Panthers 2003 team... the more I think about it.
Check out Penrith's team for the Grand Final that year, compared to the 2010 Rabbits
Penrith 2003 South Sydney 2010
1. Rhys Wesser Rhys Wesser
2. Luke Lewis Nathan Merritt
3. Ryan Girdler Colin Best
4. Paul Whatuira Beau Champion
5. Luke Rooney Fetuli Talanoa
6. Preston Campbell John Sutton
7. Craig Gower Chris Sandow
8. Joel Clinton Luke Stuart
9. Luke Priddis Isaac Luke
10. Martin Lang Roy Asotasi
11. Joe Galuvao Sam Burgess
12. Tony Puletua Dave Taylor
13. Scott Sattler Ben Lowe
14. Ben Ross Scott Geddes
15. Trent Waterhouse Garret Crossman
16. Shane Rodney Eddy Pettybourne
17. Luke Swain Jason Clark
Rhys Wesser custodian for both teams, but the similarities don't end there:
• Wingers both have toughness combined with speed and are great under the high ball.
• In the halves, Chris Sandow looks more and more like a leader after every match and takes the pressure off a much criticised John Sutton. Ring a bell?
• The back rowers are identical! Powerful running second rowers and a reliable lock who specialises in defence.
• Workhorse front rowers. Roy Asotasi came to Souths with a reputation for line breaks and huge hitting. He has now turned into the prototype experienced front rower who gets through work and has a high Rugby League IQ.
• The hookers - Luke Priddis won the Clive Churchill medal in 2003 and Isaac Luke is on his way to being a Dally M medallist. Very similar styles.
• Finally - no backs on the bench. I love this. Coach Lang refuses to waste an interchange position.
39th minute - Scott Geddes dislocated knee cap; it looks bad. Geddes deserves better after all he's been through but to quote Roy and HG... "rugby league is a harsh mistress". Impressively, Geddes got up to play the ball before looking to the sideline for assistance. Tough bastard.
Halftime - Souths 16-0
45th minute - John Sutton is becoming something special this year. I don't mean to sound like president of the John Lang fan club, but credit where credit is due. It is amazing what a good coach can do for a player. Sutton looks patient, controlled and his mistakes are limited. He is making good reads in defence, kicking is immaculate and he is talking a whole lot more. Lang has not pressured the young star and this calmness is rubbing off not only for the Rabbits number 6, but the entire club.
47th minute - Merritt over. Sutton stands in a tackle and picks his ball-runner perfectly. Gaps all through the Cowboys defence. Nathan Merritt not only coming in field looking for work here but is on the opposite side of the field to his normal wing position. Souths have serious potential this year, and the coming years considering their youth. Souths 22-0.
49th minute - The Bunnies get a repeat set from the restart and are all over the Cowboys here. Luke held up by Watts who is still a shining light for the visitors. Penalty to North Queensland relieves the pressure.
52nd minute - The evolution of Chris Sandow. Perfect kick finds touch after Sandow notices his forwards were getting a bit fatigued. A couple of slow play-the-balls and he makes a simple play he would not have made last year. Impressive.
57th minute - Definite hunger in the eyes of the bunnies. They have a killer instinct tonight - they want more points and want to destroy their opposition. Sutton turns it over though - a rare error for him.
Thought - Souths have been aggressive tonight - some would say ruthless. Isaac Luke just popped JT in the ribs and looked at him with disgust - seemed like he enjoyed it. Little did we know he'd be charged for the next one.
60th minute - Too much possession and too much aggression. Souths continue the demolition as Talanoa goes over after some good lead up work from Colin Best and Wesser. Souths 26-0
63rd minute - Another hit on JT by Isaac Luke. This one was late though and Luke still has that look in his eye. Intent. The referee does nothing, which is one issue... but a bigger question mark here is over the ticker of the Cowboys forward pack. They are getting belted for one, but secondly, they are not standing up for their halfback and captain as he is continually hit late, harassed after kicks and targeted in defence.
66th minute - Another try to the Bunnies. Lazy marker defence by the visitors sees a telegraphed inside ball find open space. Luke scores. Souths 32-0.
72nd minute - Aaron Payne runs from dummy half. I mention this because it’s the first time I’ve noticed Payne running the ball. They really have been blown off the park tonight.
75th minute - Garbage time. Burgess and Taylor on the bench resting after a job well done. Cowboys score in the corner. Souths 32-4.
Thought - Jonathan Thurston looks tired. He was the best player in the world at one stage recently but now faces all the attention and pressure that comes with a tag like this: e.g.
• Gets targeted by opposition forwards in defence and whilst he kicks in general play.
• Faces a long rep season every year.
• This season he has obviously played injured a number of times.
• To top it off his forwards are not sticking up for him.
JT definitely earns his money - and then has to face criticism if he looks at other codes to try and prepare for his financial future. Hard life, but as Roy and HG say, "rugby league rolls the dice of life".
Full time - Credit to Souths tonight, they were relentless. Forwards are living up to their reputation and they are playing an exciting yet controlled brand of footy. They win 32-4.
Tune in next week as the Roosters head to Melbourne to face the undermanned Storm.
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