WHO NEEDS LATRELL? Souths stun Penrith as Reynolds goes to ‘another level’ in gutsy win

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And they said Souths couldn’t do it without Latrell Mitchell.

Just as they were being written off by your accountant, your bin man and that bloke you met on holiday five years ago and you don’t know why you’re still friends with him on Facebook, the Bunnies downed Penrith to give themselves a week off.

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The Rabbitohs sealed a 16-10 victory in Townsville to go through to a fourth straight preliminary final after overcoming the side who ended their grand final dream last year.

By their usual standards Penrith’s defence, temperament and discipline all lacked, and Souths benefited.

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They scored the opening try through Stephen Crichton, but from thereon in it was the Rabbitohs’ game.

Cody Walker scored before the break, with Jaxson Paulo crossing after it, as captain Adam Reynolds kicked four goals.

The Bunnies skipper steered his side around, rookie Blake Taaffe filled the void left by Mitchell and Tom Burgess delivered one of his best solo performances this year to get Wayne Bennett’s side over the line.

Read on for our 3 Big Hits from the Rabbitohs’ win over the Panthers!

REYNOLDS LEADS THE WAY

The reality has been known for the last few months, but there are those of us who still feel a bit queasy thinking of Reynolds in anything but the famous cardinal and myrtle of South Sydney.

There’s no sentimentality in sport, or so they say, but signing off with a premiership would be the most fitting of endings to his Rabbitohs career.

Reynolds was at the heart of everything the Bunnies did right.

He dug into the line, kicked them out of trouble and had to endure the unenviable task of having Viliame Kikau run at him.

“Reynolds isn’t known for his running game but it’s been a real plus for them tonight,” said Fox League’s Braith Anasta.

“He can sit back when he has the likes of Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell to weave their magic.

“But he knows he needs to go to another level if they are to win the comp without Latrell in the side.”

PENRITH OFF THE PACE

For Penrith this will be a game of what might have beens. Crucially, it means they are going to have to beat Melbourne to get to the grand final.

It wasn’t that Souths were out-of-this-world good, it’s just that the Panthers were way below par.

They had the ascendancy in the second half and at times it felt like Souths would wilt under the pressure of expectation.

Crichton was a standout at fullback, Cleary was dependable, but it was the performance of his partner in crime, Jarome Luai, which will leave Ivan Cleary with cause for concern.

Early in the tackle count and with 15 minutes to go and the game still within reach, Luai chucked out a speculative ball to To’o who was then bundled into touch.

“The South Sydney defence was incredible but on play two Luai is throwing a cut-out pass,” Anasta said.

“He has only had one run tonight for 6m (Luai finished with 22m from three runs).

“He’s looking to go too wide too early and without putting a dent in the South Sydney defensive unit.

“Souths have been jamming in on both edges and they’ve been getting results. Luai has been really quiet tonight.”

TAAFFE UP TO THE TASK

All the talk this week was about how rookie South Sydney fullback Taaffe would fare under the fire of Cleary’s kicking artillery.

The 22-year-old, who had just played five NRL games until tonight, dropped one early in the encounter before recovering to cope with everything the Panthers halfback threw at him.

“Taaffe has attacked the ball really well. I take my hat off to him because he has played confidently,” said Fox League’s Greg Alexander.

“He dropped the first one but he managed to bounce back and get straight back into the defence. He has been put under pressure by Nathan but he handled it.”

Taaffe also showed his attacking prowess, sending Paulo in at the corner for a decisive try in the second half.

“He does a really good job and shows poise to execute,” said Anasta. “He had his toughest assignment of the night and he’s had a really good effort at the back. He’s been under huge pressure and apart from one, he’s done well.”

PANTHERS TEAM: 2. Stephen Crichton 20. Charlie Staines 3. Paul Momirovski 4. Matt Burton 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 18. Matthew Eisenhuth 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. James Fisher-Harris 17. Liam Martin 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Isaah Yeo 11. Viliame Kikau 14. Mitch Kenny 15. Spencer Leniu 16. Tevita Pangai Junior

RABBITOHS TEAM: 1. Blake Taaffe 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dane Gagai 4. Campbell Graham 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Mark Nicholls 9. Damien Cook 10. Tevita Tatola 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Cameron Murray 14. Benji Marshall 15. Jacob Host 16. Thomas Burgess 17. Jai Arrow 21. Patrick Mago

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