South Sydney have kept their faint NRL finals hopes alive after continuing their mid-season resurgence with a 14-0 win over a depleted Manly.
In a game that made a strong case for stand-alone State of Origin blocks, Souths scored twice in the first 20 minutes before a late try sealed it at a wet and soggy Accor Stadium.
The victory moved the Rabbitohs within four points of the top eight, with Souths still likely needing to win eight of their last 10 games to make the finals.
Last on the ladder a month ago, Souths are attempting to pull off a comeback not seen since Brisbane went from 17th to eighth in 1999.
As gutsy as Souths were in defence for the majority of Saturday night, this was not a contest for the ages.
Manly looked every bit the side that had 13 players unavailable because of injury, suspension or representative duties.
They could clearly have done with Daly Cherry-Evans’ polish at the end of sets, Haumole Olakau’atu’s power and Jake Trbojevic’s energy and ball-playing.
Souths clearly lacked their Origin stars as well.
This was a game that needed the X-factor of Latrell Mitchell, or Cameron Murray’s ability to create space by digging into the line and passing.
Instead, all five of the aforementioned players spent Saturday night in Origin camps watching one of the most frustrating games of the year.
Ultimately, it was the Rabbitohs’ defence that proved the difference.
Manly centre Tolu Koula rushed up out of the line for Souths’ first try, and space was offered to Jye Gray for the Rabbitohs’ second.
It was an 8-0 advantage the hosts were able to hold until the death, when Keaon Koloamatangi chased down a Damien Cook grubber-kick with a minute to play.
In contrast, the Sea Eagles barely looked like breaking the Rabbitohs during their sets on South Sydney’s line.
Manly’s best chance came early in the second half when Karl Lawton burst through on the halfway line, only for Tommy Talau to spill the pass.
Talau also had a four-pointer rejected with 15 minutes to play, when Ben Condon was ruled to have taken out a Rabbitoh in the lead-up.
The result leaves Manly in 11th spot, towards the bottom end of the logjam of teams fighting for the final spots in the top eight.
Source Agencies
