Souths upset Manly to boost finals hopes

South Sydney moved within reach of the NRL's top eight with an upset 36-22 upset win
over reigning premiers Manly at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night.
The Rabbitohs overcame an early 12-point deficit to overpower the Sea Eagles on
their home turf and move within a point of eighth spot with four matches to play.
The Bunnies have now won four of their last five games and their late season revival
puts them firmly in the mid-table logjam for finals spots.
The Sea Eagles, meanwhile, are now in danger of falling into that battle after their
second straight loss left them on the fringe of the top eight.
Souths had taken a shock 22-12 lead into halftime, despite trailing 12-0 after just
11 minutes.
The Sea Eagles threatened a comeback in the second half but Nathan Merritt and Beau
Champion both enjoyed doubles inside the last 10 minutes to seal the win.
Things looked good early for Manly when winger Tony Williams opened the scoring in
the second minute and the Sea Eagles looked unlucky when Jamie Lyon was denied a try
by video referee Bill Harrigan two minutes later.
Manly were on the right side of Harrigan's next decision when Anthony Watmough
crossed under the posts in the 11th minute.
Looking like they could be in for a tough night, the Bunnies then exploded into life
with four tries in a 13-minute period.
Merritt kicked off the revival when he capitalised on a pin-point grubber kick from
John Sutton in the 16th minute.
The Rabbitohs then got within two when Fetuli Talanoa planted the ball millimetres
inside the touchline and they had the lead when 22-year-old winger Chris McQueen
scored on debut.
McQueen, playing in place of injured winger Jamie Simpson, turned provider in the
29th minute when he caught a Sutton bomb and set up Beau Champion, after Souths had
been gifted another attacking opportunity by a trademark David "Wolfman" Williams
error.
Manly tried to launch a comeback after halftime, but the visitors defended gallantly
and were the first to add to their total with a Chris Sandow penalty in the 57th
minute.
But the Sea Eagles closed the margin when Tony Williams bagged his second with 20
minutes remaining.
Hopes of a comeback were short lived, however, as Merritt and Champion sealed their
doubles inside the last ten minutes and Jason King got a consolation for the home
side.