by Elijah Lavett – EM TV Sport, Port Moresby
The Dragons were on the hunt for a seventh straight win against the Rabbithos, who lost three games in a row, but that was not to be.
South Sydney came back into the winner’s circle after sealing a victory in last night’s NRL round 9 matches. The Rabbithos hung on for a 16-10 win.
The Rabbithos were lifted by the return of halfback Adam Reynolds, who remained a calming influence on his team throughout the contest. Reynolds got the game scoring underway, with a successful penalty conversion after a penalty was handed down.
Dragons prop Mike Cooper was punished for accidentally slapping Sutton in the face. The referees made amends when a penalty to the Rabbitohs allowed Dragons’ five eight Gareth Widdop to equal the ledger at 2-all.
The first try came eight minutes after winger Peter Mata’utia sliced his way past Reynolds and Dylan Walker to get Widdop into open space. The Rabbitohs drew level after winger Aaron Gray crossed out wide to score from a brilliant pass from Inglis.
The Dragons weren’t done in the first half; halfback Benji Marshall stepped up to the plate and threw a lovely ball for winger Jason Nightingale to score. Rabbitohs came back firing in the second half, when they hit the lead through Gray’s second try in the corner.
Alex Johnston capitalised for South Sydney and Johnston’s try proved the match winner.
