Bunnies put on a show to down a determined Brisbane outfit.
For the second game in as many weeks, the South Sydney Rabbtiohs have collected the two competition points thanks to a stunning scoring spree in the second half.
The Bunnies ran out deserving 26-12 winners against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, but it was an eight minute period after the break that sealed them the victory.
Trailing by four going into the change-rooms South Sydney, much like they did last weekend in their clash with Manly, blew the Broncos off the park with three quick tries.
Despite the Broncos never giving up they were outclassed for much of the game as Souths won just their third game in 12 outings since 1988 in Brisbane.
The home side side suffered a blow before the start of play with injury-prone centre Justin Hodges a late-withdrawal.
Underlying How important Hodges is to the side, they Broncos had only won a single game out of nine when the Maroons star sits out.
Souths started the game cautiously and were given a penalty for a late hit on halfback Adam Reynolds, and surprisingly, they opted to take the points to make it 2-0.
The Rabbitohs looked scrappy at times in the first 10 minutes, but they soon found they rhythm as Jason Clark looked certain to score before a well-placed foot by Corey Norman saw the try thwarted.
However, Clark made no mistake when he get his next chance to score, as he showed sensational footwork to beat Norman to score next to the posts to make it 8-0.
Brisbane then began to have a tough time getting out of their own half, with the frenetic pace of the first half beginning to take its toll.
Scott Prince made the Rabbitohs pay on the back of the Broncos’ fourth set deep on the attack, to sell the dummy and slide across to make it 8-6 with his conversion bouncing in off the upright.
Brisbane’s first try came at a vital time 10 minutes before the break, to give the home
side a lift mentally.
The Broncos backs started to give their halves options with the ball, but Souths defence
continued to show it was up to the task.
Brisbane hit the lead when Jack Reed cleaned up a spilt chip-kick, to give his side an important lead 12-8 in the shadows of half-time.
Hodges said coach Anthony Griffin was happy with the side’s performance through 40 minutes.
“It was pretty intense first half both sides came out and played well, and we did well to get those couple of tries before the break,” Hodges said.
“We just need to keep going through the middle and then work off the quick ball, but the coach
was pretty happy.
“I’ll be back next week, I think I’m just getting too old.”
However, it was the visitors who began the better in the second stanza as Greg Inglis put Souths back in front after barging his way across the line from in close to make it 14-12.
For the second time in as many weeks, Inglis scored within the first five minutes after the break, setting the tone for his side.
Inglis then sparked an incredible 100 metre team try which saw the ball pass through just three sets of hands, before Nathan Merritt darted over down a small blindside.
Reynolds slotted the sideline conversion to give his side an important eight-point buffer.
The floodgates then opened more as John Sutton was put into a yawning gap to cap a stunning scoring surge with three tries scored in less than 10 minutes as Souths led by 14.
Brisbane continued to battle despite the clock becoming their enemy, with Matt Gillett over the line, but the try was overturned due to obstruction, summing up the Broncos’ game.
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