Deja vu as Souths fans are left wanting
answers

It?s become an all too familiar sight. A promising first half and then along comes a second half performance that even most junior football coaches would be fuming about it.

Yep, you guessed it, those South Sydney Rabbitohs have once again been out-classed, out-thinked and dominated, this time being defeated 38-18 by the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Park this evening.

It started like a fairy tale for the Bunnies putting pressure on the bigger Sharks forwards and led by what looked like the second coming in the form of rookie halfback Joe Williams. Williams guided his side from the kick off with his slick short passing game and solid kicking display leading the Rabbitohs to twelve zip scoreline after 18 minutes.

The Sharks were disappointing in the early stages of the game until the red haired half Michael Sullivan came onto field reeking havoc from dummy half as they Sharks started to look like there old selves making it to 12-10 halftime.

The final 40 minutes was a total demolition job. The Bunnies dropped too much ball, missed too many tackles and generally lacked any direction whatsoever.

The Cronulla forwards made there counterparts look like school boys as they ripped through them in impressive fashion.

Six tries later and it was all over as the South Sydney faithful left Toyota Park with yet another disappointing result and the once proud green & red jumpers tarnished by yet more poor on field results.

Scorers: SHARKS 38 Tries: Sullivan 2, McGoldrick 2, Simmons, Lomu, Meritt Goals: Kimmorley 5/7 defeated RABBITOHS 18 Tries: Harrison, Tillott, Hall Goals: Williams 3/3

Toyota Park Referee: Steve Lyons Video Referee: Mick Stone. Touch Judges: Russell Turner, Peter Sciberras

By the clock: The overhead conditions are fine at Toyata Park for this Round 12 clash.

0 min: Rabbitohs kick off

1 min: News - The Rabbitohs put the pressure on Paul Gallen from the kick off forcing him to knock it on in the tackle.

3 min: Try - Rabbitohs: A perfect start for the South Sydney club. The Rabbitohs spread it wide with Ashley Harrison scoring the four pointer. Joe Williams converts.6-0 Rabbitohs

10 min: News - A good start for the Rabbitohs. They appear to be playing with alot more confidence especially on attack.

13 min: News - A excellent pass from Kimmorley puts Nathan Meritt into space, his hands let him down.

15 min: News - Rabbitohs pass it to the blindside to find Luke MacDougall, Nathan Meritt tackles him over the touchline before MacDougall could score.

16 min: News - Phil Bailey offloads in a tackle next to the line, Kimmorley puts a boot to it before it rolled over the dead ball line.

18 min: Try - Rabbitohs: A short pass from Bryan Fletcher puts Mark Minichiello into space, he attracts the fullback and passes it to Wes Tillott to score. Joe Williams converts. 12-0 Rabbitohs

25 min: Try - Sharks: Michael Sullivan runs with the ball from dummy half, he throws a dummy to fool the Rabbitohs defence before scoring. Brett Kimmorley converts. 12-6 Rabbitohs

25 min: News - Ashley Harrison is off with a corked thigh, he should be able to be back on the field later.

30 min: News - The Rabbitohs drop the ball 20 metres out from the line, one of a few errors made by Souths in this match.

33 min: News - Sharks fullback David Peachey busts the line, excellent convering defence from Brad Watts saves the day for the Bunnys.

35 min: News - Brett Kimmorley throws a long pass near the line only to intercepted by the inspirational Joe Williams caping off a excellent for the rookie half.

36 min: News - Nathan Meritt makes another costly error after a superb break by the Sharks.

39 min: Try - Sharks: Jason Stevens strips the ball from Luke MacDougall, The Sharks then spread it wide to find David Simmons who puts the Cronulla side back into the game. Kimmorleys conversion attempt hits the crossbar.

Half time: The Rabbitohs are all of a sudden playing with alot more structure with new halfback Joe Williams contolling the game with his passing game, The Sharks have blunded alot of try scoring opportunities in good field position and havent looked no where near as strong as they have previous weeks. South Sydney should be leading by more. Rabbitohs are leading 12-10.

Possession: Sharks 52% - Rabbitohs 48% Penalties: Sharks 5 - Rabbitohs 2 Completed sets: Sharks 15/24 - Rabbitohs 15/20 Errors: Sharks 9 - Rabbitohs 5 Offloads: Sharks 10 - Rabbitohs 7

40 min: Sharks kickoff

41 min: News - Paul Gallen charges down a kick, a cruel bounce of the ball and Souths get another set of six.

44 min: Try - Sharks: Michael Sullivan puts in a grubber into the in goal area, Andrew Lomu pounces on the ball to score. Kimmorley converts. 16-12 Sharks

50 min: News - The Cronulla forwards are dominating the smaller South Sydney forwards through the middle of the pitch. The Sharks look a much improved team from their first half preformance.

55 min: Try - Sharks: Brett Kimmorley puts up a kick, Wes Tillott gets a hand to it & knocks it on before it bounced for Michael Sullivan to score. Kimmorley converts. 22-12 Sharks

58 min: News - Luke MacDougall throws a sloppy pass to Wes Tillott, he knocks it on 10 metres away from the try line.

59 min: Try - Sharks: David Peachey puts in a grubber kick into the in goal area, it sits up nicely for Ryan McGoldrick to put what should be the final nail in South Sydney's coffin. Kimmorleys conversion attempt goes wide. 26-12 Sharks

68 min: Try - Sharks: Michael Sullivan's work out of dummy half haunts the Rabbitohs again setting up Nathan Meritt with a superb flick pass. Kimmorley converts. 32-12 Sharks

70 min: News - South Sydney's demise has been there own doing making plenty of errors at critical times.

70 min: News - Can it get any worse for South Sydney? It just did. Captain Bryan Fletcher hobles off the field with what looks like a serious knee or maybe a ankle injury.

73 min: News - Nigel Vagana's attempted intercept is knocked on.

76 min: News - After putting Danny Nutley into space Brett Kimmorley puts up a supebly placed kick for David Simmons who almost comes up with the ball.

78 min: Try - Sharks: David Fa'alago offload goes to the ground, Ryan McGoldrick picks it up and runs over 40 metres to score. Kimmorley converts. 38-12 Sharks

80 min: Try - Rabbitohs: South Sydney prop Glenn Hall pushes off several sharks defenders to score a consilation try for the Rabbitohs. Joe Williams converts.

Too many drop balls,too many missed tackles. The game leaves Souths fans once again dissapointed after a terrible second half. 38-12 Sharks. Possession: Sharks 52% - Rabbitohs 48% Penalties: Sharks 6 - Rabbitohs 5 Completed sets: Sharks 29/42 - Rabbitohs 26/39 Errors: Sharks 18 - Rabbitohs 15 Offloads: Sharks 19 - Rabbitohs 10 ----------------------------------------- Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - M Sullivan (Sharks) 2 - B Kimmorley (Sharks) 1 - D Nutley (Sharks) -----------------------------------------