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3 hours ago | Rhys Sullivan
The Sydney Roosters have run out unconvincing 26-16 winners over and determined and spirited South Sydney side at Aussie Stadium this evening.
South?s had the lion?s share of possession in the early stages but failed to convert their numerous opportunities into points due to poor attacking options at crucial times and inexperience in pressure situations.
At half time South?s were down 18-2 and it looked like the South?s of old had found their way into a set of 2004 jerseys but to their credit, they never at any stage turned up their toes and even though they lost Todd Polglase and Paul Stringer to injury early in the game, they battled on courageously, never giving an inch to their more fancied rivals.
The Roosters were unusually poor in both attack and defence with many uncharacteristic errors letting them down, much to the disgust of coach Ricky Stuart.
New signing Adam Macdougall scored a superb try on debut for the Bunnies, as he charged through some flimsy Roosters defence to leave both Anthony Minichello and Adrian Morley in his wake. If the Bunnies can keep Macdougall fit and on the park, he will be worth his weight in gold as his leadership and experience will prove invaluable throughout the course of the season. Macdougall?s centre partner Lee Hookey totally outplayed his opposite number Ryan Cross, leaving him stranded in defence in several occasions
Brad Fittler was quiet and out of sorts for the Roosters while Craig Fitzgibbon was outstanding, taking the initiative on both attack and defence and launching himself at the Bunnies at least once in every set of six and he defended like a Trojan, coming up with some bone crunching tackle to keep the impetus and momentum with the Roosters.
Manly take on the Roosters next week and will feel they are definitely in with a show of defeating the 2003 grand finalists, even more so if Craig Wing?s diagnosis on a leg injury is confirmed to be serious.
Leagueunlimited.com Player of the Year Awards
3 - C Fitzgibbon (Roosters) 2 ? L Hookey (Rabbitohs) 1 ? A Macdougall (Rabbitohs)
Scorers: ROOSTERS 26. Tries: Morley, Minichello, Cross, Wing. Goals: Fitzgibbon 5/5.
RABBITOHS 16. Tries: A Macdougall, M Riddle, L Macdougall. Goals: Riddle 2/5
By the clock: 1st min: Kickoff, we are underway int eh final match of round one.
9th min: PENALTY GOAL - Rabbitohs. Matt Riddle scores the Rabbitohs first points of 2004 with a penalty goal after some sustained Rabbitohs pressure. Rabbitohs 2-0.
17th min: TRY - Roosters. Adrian Morely just gets over the line to post the Rosoters first points of 2004. Conversion successful. Roosters 6-2.
NEWS: Paul Stringer has left the field after being belted in an absolute bell ringer by Adrian Morley which was perfectly legal according to Shayne Hayne.
32nd min: TRY - Roosters. Anthony Minichello scores the Roosters second as they start to capitalise on Souths inability to put points on the board. Conversion successful. Roosters 12-2.
34th min: TRY - Roosters. The flood gates have opened with Souths down to fifteen men and Ryan Cross scores a relatively easy try out of dummy half to score adjacent to the posts. Conversion successful. Roosters 18-2.
HALF TIME: Souths have failed to turn huge amoutns of possession into any points and their last tackle options have been extremely poor, mainly due to an inept kicking game from Willie Peters. They can't win this game,but they can make the scoreline respectable if they have a dog for the next forty minutes.
47th min: Souths have butchered several try scoring opportunities and Jamie Russo should never be allowed near first grade again.
51st min: TRY - Souths. Adam Macdougall scores an unbelievable try by slicing through a very weak Roosters defence to leave Adrian Morley and Anthony Minichello in his wake. Simply an awesome try by Adam Macdougall. Conversion successful. Roosters 18-8.
55th min: TRY - Roosters. Craig Wing scoots out of dummy half and slams the ball over theline but looks to have sustained a serious leg injury in the process. Conversion successful. Roosters 24-8.
60th min: TRY - Souths. Matt Riddle scores for Souths and keep themsleves in the game with some great ad-lib footy. The Roosters have been extremely poor and undisciplined in this game. Conversion unsuccessful. Roosters 24-12.
64th min: TRY - Souths. Luke Macdougall scores int eh corner after brother Adam put in a sweetly timed grubber to put the Rabbitohs back in the match. Ricky Stuart would be livid with is sides display tonight. They look nothing like the side from last year and have missed far too many tackles. Conversion unsuccessful. Roosters 24-16.
77th min: PENALTY GOAL - Roosters. Craig Fitzgibbon slots an easy penalty goal to extend the Roosters lead but Souths can hold their head high as they have lost two players to injury and tested the Roosters for the entire eighty minutes. Roosters 26-16.
FULL TIME: The Roosters get the points but the usually disciplined Roosters were nowhere to be seen tonight. Far too many missed tackles and fundamental errors means their aura of invincibility may be starting to fade. Souths played their hearts out but it was nto enough. Too many missed chances and poor options cost the Rabbitohs the opportunity of causing the boilover of the season.