ID :
115962
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 23:39
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/115962
The shortlink copeid
Souths march on past patched-up Knights
Another strong display from in-form hooker Isaac Luke and two tries from Nathan
Merritt helped South Sydney seal a 28-10 NRL victory against Newcastle at Gosford's
Bluetongue Stadium.
Luke was instrumental in all of Souths best attacking moves, having a hand in three
of their five tries, as the Rabbitohs recorded a third successive win for the first
time since 2008.
The result capped off a miserable evening for the struggling Knights who saw
halfback Scott Dureau limp off with a hip injury just before halftime, as Rick
Stone's side slipped to a fourth straight defeat.
New Zealand Test hooker Luke was outstanding, producing some ferocious tackling,
dominating around the fringes of the ruck and kicking four goals for good measure.
One hit in particular from the diminutive rake poleaxed Knights prop Ben Cross, who
was left spinning in the air after running head-on into Luke.
The Knights, not for the first time this season, controlled the opening exchanges
and broke the deadlock after seven minutes when prop Dan Tolar barged over after
latching onto an offload from Cory Paterson.
But after Dureau missed an straightforward conversion, the Knights turned off in
defence as Luke sprinted out of dummy half to switch a pass to Merritt who held off
Junior Sa'u to score in the 12th minute.
That try led to sustained spell of pressure for the hosts, who should have doubled
their lead when Sam Burgess spilled the ball on the Knights tryline just when it
looked easier to score.
However, that missed opportunity did not proved to be costly as Beau Champion
pounced onto Paterson's grubber kick from the Knights' subsequent set and raced 50
metres to touch down under the posts to give his side a 12-4 half-time lead.
The Rabbitohs almost scored with their opening set of the second stanza when a
booming kick from John Sutton nearly deceived Knights fullback Shannon McDonnell,
who just managed to get his hands to the ball to deny the onrushing Chris Sandow.
But that scare led to the Knights' best spell of the game as emergency halfback
Isaac De Gois linked up well with Jarrod Mulllen to carve open some good
opportunities as the Souths' defence showed signs of cracking.
That pressure paid off in the 59th minute when Mullen's sweet pass found Akulia Uate
who powered over, with Wes Naiqama adding the extras to cut the deficit to 12-10.
However, the Knights failed to capitalise on that momentum and let Souths back into
the game on 63 minutes with a piece of brilliance from prop David Taylor, whose
perfectly-weighted grubber kick found winger Fetuli Talanoa.
That try knocked the stuffing out of Stone's side and Souths finished strongly with
Merritt grabbing his second two minutes later, before veteran fullback Rhys Wesser
added some gloss with a try late in the game as Luke kicked the conversion.
Merritt helped South Sydney seal a 28-10 NRL victory against Newcastle at Gosford's
Bluetongue Stadium.
Luke was instrumental in all of Souths best attacking moves, having a hand in three
of their five tries, as the Rabbitohs recorded a third successive win for the first
time since 2008.
The result capped off a miserable evening for the struggling Knights who saw
halfback Scott Dureau limp off with a hip injury just before halftime, as Rick
Stone's side slipped to a fourth straight defeat.
New Zealand Test hooker Luke was outstanding, producing some ferocious tackling,
dominating around the fringes of the ruck and kicking four goals for good measure.
One hit in particular from the diminutive rake poleaxed Knights prop Ben Cross, who
was left spinning in the air after running head-on into Luke.
The Knights, not for the first time this season, controlled the opening exchanges
and broke the deadlock after seven minutes when prop Dan Tolar barged over after
latching onto an offload from Cory Paterson.
But after Dureau missed an straightforward conversion, the Knights turned off in
defence as Luke sprinted out of dummy half to switch a pass to Merritt who held off
Junior Sa'u to score in the 12th minute.
That try led to sustained spell of pressure for the hosts, who should have doubled
their lead when Sam Burgess spilled the ball on the Knights tryline just when it
looked easier to score.
However, that missed opportunity did not proved to be costly as Beau Champion
pounced onto Paterson's grubber kick from the Knights' subsequent set and raced 50
metres to touch down under the posts to give his side a 12-4 half-time lead.
The Rabbitohs almost scored with their opening set of the second stanza when a
booming kick from John Sutton nearly deceived Knights fullback Shannon McDonnell,
who just managed to get his hands to the ball to deny the onrushing Chris Sandow.
But that scare led to the Knights' best spell of the game as emergency halfback
Isaac De Gois linked up well with Jarrod Mulllen to carve open some good
opportunities as the Souths' defence showed signs of cracking.
That pressure paid off in the 59th minute when Mullen's sweet pass found Akulia Uate
who powered over, with Wes Naiqama adding the extras to cut the deficit to 12-10.
However, the Knights failed to capitalise on that momentum and let Souths back into
the game on 63 minutes with a piece of brilliance from prop David Taylor, whose
perfectly-weighted grubber kick found winger Fetuli Talanoa.
That try knocked the stuffing out of Stone's side and Souths finished strongly with
Merritt grabbing his second two minutes later, before veteran fullback Rhys Wesser
added some gloss with a try late in the game as Luke kicked the conversion.
