Souths skipper Cameron Murray has led his Rabbitohs to a convincing 28-16 win over their bitter rivals the Roosters at Accor Stadium tonight.
Murray was in everything, scoring a try and setting up two more in a superb display which showed why he is the man to lead the cardinal and myrtle into the post Adam Reynolds era at the foundation club.
The win was the Bunnies first of the season and first for rookie coach Jason Demetriou in a memorable performance and silenced the doubters who began to think that the Rabbitohs would struggle to overcome the loss of their long-term number seven and the presence of the great Wayne Bennett.
The Roosters will be disappointed with their performance, as they were starved of possession and couldn't go try for try with the elusive Bunnies attack. An uncharacteristic impatient Roosters made 12 errors, which led to a below par completion rate for the visitors as they failed to gain any momentum in the match.
All the pre-match hype centred on the battle of former teammates Latrell Mitchell and Joey Manu following ‘that tackle' last time the two sides met in 2021, which looked to light the fuse on another explosive chapter in Russell Crowe's famed ‘book of feuds' in the long history between the two rivals.
While both Mitchell and Manu managed to cross the line for their respective sides, it was Latrell who had the final say, when the controversial fullback ran sixty metres to score the match winner with just over 10 minutes remaining.
South Sydney dominated possession early after some bruising defence and that resulted in the Rabbitohs striking first when starting skipper Murray sliced through close to the line to score next to the posts. Latrell Mitchell converted the try and the Bunnies led 6-0.
The Rabbitohs continued to dominate possession when James Tedesco looked to be away off a quick twenty metre re-start, however he then threw a rushed pass which went to ground and Cameron Murray then picked up the loose ball and fired a pass to his winger Alex Johnston who raced away to score South Sydney's second try. Mitchell converted and it was 12-0.
The Roosters were in danger of losing touch, however redemption came for the Roosters captain, when Joseph Manu delivered a neat offload for his skipper Tedesco, who raced away to score after a forgettable first twenty minutes. Sam Walker converted and the Roosters narrowed the lead to a converted try at the break.
The second half was a disaster for Souths however, when off the back of a Tom Burgess error, Roosters centre Joseph Manu skipped his way through the defensive line to score and in the process he let his ex-teammate Latrell Mitchell know about the try in a rare expression of emotion from the Kiwi centre.
The Bunnies extended their lead minutes later, when Murray found an elusive Cody Walker with an inside ball and the slippery number six scooted away from the cover defence to score and extend the lead to 18-10.
Souths continued to dominate possession and were very unlucky not to skip away from the Roosters further, when they were denied two tries from the Bunker, who spotted knocks by Alex Johnson and Keaon Koloamatangi respectively to keep the Tricolours in the match.
Koloamatangi couldn't be denied a second time however, when the blockbusting backrower crashed over close to the line to finally get a try after having one denied moments earlier. Mitchell converted and the lead was 24-10.
Latrell Mitchell then put an exclamation point on the victory, when the NSW centre collected the ball in the clear off a Roosters error and then raced sixty metres to score a runaway try against his former club to really rub salt into the wounds.
Paul Momirovski delivered a beautiful pass for his outside man Daniel Tupou who scampered over in the corner to give his side a chance with less than ten minutes remaining but it wasn't to be for the Roosters as Souths ran out deserved winners by 28-16.
The Rabbitohs now head into the Grand Final replay against the Panthers in Round 4 full of confidence as Jason Demetriou's side look to make it back-to-back wins.
The Roosters now head to Townsville, where they will face the Cowboys on the first of two clashes in Queensland over the next fortnight.