South Sydney have upset a fast-finishing Brisbane by 22-12 at a wet Accor Stadium tonight. The win gives the Bunnies their third win on the trot under the tutelage of coach Ben Hornby and raises hopes that the Rabbitohs can make a late run for the Top 8 following a shocking start to the year for the Redfern based club.
The match was built up as a final audition for Rabbitohs superstar Latrell Mitchell and he certainly was involved with a try, try assist, some towering bombs and a stint in the Sin Bin to remind Blues coach Michael Maguire that he has the X-Factor to challenge the Maroons at the MCG in Origin II.
Mitchell wasn't on his own though with forwards Keon Koloamatangi and skipper Cameron Murray also putting themselves in the Blues selection discussion. Halfback Cody Walker was also solid once again following his recent move from five-eighth.
Brisbane on the other hand are now officially in a form slump and face the possibility of slipping out of the Top 8 this weekend if results don't go their way. Coach Kevin Walters will be hoping his representative players get through next Wednesday so the cavalry can return to strengthen their position on the ladder sooner rather than later.
Coming into the game off back-to-back wins, the Rabbitohs threw the ball around with confidence early. Brisbane managed to repel them several times before Damien Cook raced out of dummy half to score the first try of the night after 12 minutes.
With Blues selection a possibility for Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker, it was Walker with a deft kick towards the upright which saw Keaon Koloamatangi come down with the ball to score the home side's second try, before Mitchell made his presence felt minutes later crashing over close to the line to make it 18-0 with just 23 minutes on the clock.
Brisbane needed something to go their way, and it appeared to be happening when Souths centre Richie Kennar found himself in the Sin Bin for a high tackle on Selwyn Cobbo.
Brisbane then quickly set about getting on the scoreboard with the one-man advantage when fullback Tristan Sailor threw a flick pass for Ezra Mam to score, but the pass is ruled forward and the Rabbitohs held on to their 18-0 lead a halftime.
The Blues audition continued to go well for Latrell Mitchell after the break, this time with a superb cut out pass for Alex Johnston to score his side's fourth try of the night and it was all the Bunnies at 22-0.
With 23 minutes remaining, the game hit a flashpoint when returning Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray was taken out without the ball by Jordan Riki in an ugly tackle. Mitchell then objected and ran a mile towards Riki to demonstrate his dissatisfaction. The referee then sent both players to the Sin Bin, while Murray left the field for a head injury assessment.
Following both players return, the Broncos scored their first try of the night when Deine Mariner slid over in the corner to narrow the score to 22-6 following the sideline conversion from Kotoni Staggs.
Mariner then had a double late in the match following a superb kick by Ezra Mam but it was merely a consolation, as the Broncos low completion rate never had them in the game and South Sydney came away with a deserved victory.
South Sydney now wait to see how many of their players will be selected for the Blues before they return to Accor Stadium in Round 16 to take on Manly next Saturday.
Brisbane will also have a contingent of players in Origin but have a welcome bye round next week.