Round 12, 2024: Souths 42 Parramatta 26

Rabbitohs unlock their attack to snap six-game losing streak

The Rabbitohs played a man down for 10 minutes but dug deep to arrest a six-game losing streak with a 42-26 win over the Eels at Accor Stadium.

The Rabbitohs have now won seven of their past eight games against the Eels, who have slumped to five losses on the trot.

A mistake by Maika Sivo from a towering Latrell Mitchell bomb in the seventh minute handed Souths an early opportunity but the Eels winger made amends by dragging Jacob Gagai across the sideline to snuff out the raid.

Eels centre Morgan Harper then came up with an error deep in his own territory and the Rabbitohs cashed in with a try to back-rower Jai Arrow which Mitchell converted for a 6-0 lead.

The Rabbitohs doubled their advantage in the 12th minute when Keaon Koloamatangi surged through some flimsy Eels defence to touch down under the sticks.

A clever grubber by Damien Cook in the 19th minute earned the Rabbitohs a repeat set and rookie playmaker Dion Teaupa darted over from close range for his first career try to make it 18-0.

Eight minutes later the Rabbioths had a fourth when Mitchell skipped to the left side and found Alex Johnston who got the ball down in the corner for his 190th career try, equal second all-time with Storm great Billy Slater.

The Eels finally got on the board in the 31st minute when Blaize Talagi found space on the right edge before Sean Russell made it two tries in three minutes after classy lead-up work by Sivo.

Leading 22-12 the Rabbitohs lost Mitchell to the sin bin for a hip drop in the 39th minute and the Eels took advantage four minutes after the break when Morgan Harper crossed wide out. Daejarn Asi failed to convert, and the score remained 22-16.

An offside penalty against Shaun Lane gave Teaupa the chance to add two more points and the Bunnies were back out to an eight-point lead.

Come the 53rd minute and the Rabbitohs were in again when Cook nudged the ball into the in goal and Sean Keppie showed great desperation to get through and ground the ball for his first try in Souths colours. Mitchell added the conversion for a 30-16 lead.

A knock on by Taane Milne deep in his own territory in the 64th minute gave the Eels a chance to hit back and Bryce Cartwright bamboozled the defence to put Sivo over in the corner with Asi converting to pull it back to 30-22.

With eight minutes to play the Rabbitohs iced their first win since Round 4 when Mitchell grubbered ahead and Cook followed through to score the try that made the margin 14 points.

A spiral bomb by Mitchell was too much for Talagi to handle in the 78th minute and Koloamatangi picked up the loose ball to cap a superb game with a try before Sivo grabbed a consolation try for the Eels to make it 42-26.

Match Snapshot
Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell staked a claim for Blues selection with 11 runs for 107 metres and three try assists.
Souths winger Alex Johnston has scored 10 tries in his past five games against the Eels.
Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell was put on report and sin binned for a hip drop tackle on Sean Russell in the 39th minute.
The Rabbitohs had 60 per cent of possession in the first half and completed 19 of 22 sets.
Rabbitohs five-eighth Jack Wighton left the field for a 43rd minute for a HIA and was followed shortly after by teammate Jai Arrow who was also sent for a HIA. Wighton failed his HIA while Arrow passed.
Souths back-rower Jai Arrow took his career tally to 10 tries in 149 matches.
Rabbitohs back-rower Kaeon Koloamatangi made a strong case to retain his place in the NSW side with 23 runs for 231 metres and seven tackle breaks. He collected the Eric Simms Medal as player of the match.
Rabbitohs utility Peter Mamouzelos was placed on report for a crusher tackle in the 50th minute.
Eels prop Joe Ofahengaue was placed on report for a hip drop in the 52nd minute but was not sent to the sin bin.
Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored 10 tries in his last 12 games at Accor Stadium.

Play of the Game
An inspirational piece of play from Jack Wighton in the 25th minute earned the Rabbitohs a repeat set and led directly to a try for Dion Teaupa. The veteran No.6 took the ball 45 metres out from the tryline and kicked ahead, getting the ball to pull up in the in goal. Wighton followed through and brought Blaize Talagi down with a classic low tackle to get the line dropout.

What They Said
"There's no pressure at the moment I suppose for us as players now. We just want to have fun and build our weeks and just enjoy it. Have fun and stop dwelling on what happens in the moment and moving on and I think it showed in the way we played footy. It's always fun. I love coming in and seeing the boys and seeing the smiles. You've only got a short period of time to come and see your mates every day and bring energy regardless of the result. We're all there to do a job and have fun." - Rabbitohs captain Latrell Mitchell

"We just made it too hard for ourselves. We invited them into the game at the start through two unforced errors from our back five and that's something we have to fix. And it happened again in the second half with unforced errors you just can't have. Some really good signs in attack but defensively just pressure and possession gets you. Mitch [Moses] and Clint [Gutherson] both ran really well yesterday, and I'll name them for next week and we're very confident they'll both play." - Eels interim coach Trent Barrett

What's Next
The Rabbitohs have a bye in Round 13 before travelling to the Gold Coast in Round 14 to face the Titans.

The Eels have a five-day turnaround before welcoming the high-flying Sharks to CommBank Stadium on Thursday to kick off Round 13.

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