Eels extinguish Rabbitohs revival

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been brought back to earth with a 14-8 loss to the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium in Sydney to open Round 2 of the Telstra Premiership.

Both sides managed to get themselves on the scoreboard early - Rabbitohs halfback Chris Sandow opened the scoring with a 4th-minute try thanks to an error from the Eels, but Feleti Mateo was able to hit back within 5 minutes to keep the scores level. The tit-for-tat theme continued as penalty goals were traded, ensuring the scores were kept locked together at 8-all after the first 40 minutes.

There were chances for both sides to get themselves ahead in the second half with first the Eels and then the Rabbitohs being repelled for several consecutive attacking sets. It took a piece of magic finishing from Eels winger Joel Reddy to finally break the deadlock, with his 60th minute try proving the crucial difference at the end of the match.

On the basis of this performance it