The South Sydney Rabbitohs were in a class of their own in this on-sided match totally outplaying the Parramatta Eels 38 points to nil at Bankwest Stadium.
The Rabbitohs continued their very strong recent form and their big win over Manly last weekend to stamp their authority as a genuine premiership contender.
Parramatta could have been on the scoreboard first within three minutes but they were denied a try due to a forward pass.
On the back of some poor ball handling by the Eels, it would be the Rabbitohs who drew first blood.
Corey Allan, who was filling in for the injured Alex Johnston, recorded the first try of the match after only six minutes.
It started with Cody Walker and ended with a Latrell Mitchell no-look pass Allan raced in to score in the corner.
Adam Reynolds converted the try for the Rabbitohs to take the early lead 6-0.
The next ten minutes was riddled with the Eels giving away possession through penalties and poor completion rates.
Due to the pressure mounting, the Rabbitohs were in again through Jaxson Paulo just before the half-way mark of the first stanza.
This time it was Reynolds who got involved, finding Steven Marsters who performed a great flick pass.
His pass found Paulo and he touched down inside the corner post to register the Rabbitohs’ second try of the match.
Reynolds missed the conversion from the touchline for the Rabbitohs to lead 10 points to nil.
South Sydney’s completion rate through the game was very high and their first error did not come until the 23rd minute of the first half.
Reynolds and Walker would then combine for the Rabbitohs third try.
Reynolds fooled the Parramatta defenders by throwing a nice short ball to put Walker into a great hole.
He beat Clint Gutherson to score to throw the game wide open.
Reynolds kicked the easy conversion from in front for the score to blow out to 16-0.
Just two minutes later the score board attendant needed to get off his seat again.
A Jaydn Su’a break continued to give the Rabbitohs great momentum within Parramatta’s attacking zone.
On the last play, Reynolds kicked the ball which rebounded off Shaun Lane.
Su’a was the beneficially of being in the right place at the right time from the Rabbitohs to take a 22 points to nil lead into half-time break after Reynolds converted his try.
Parramatta was their own worst enemy in the first half and did not give themselves a chance through numerous enforced errors.
The pattern did not improve early on in the second half as it took just over ten minutes for Campbell Graham to score the first of his two tries.
It started with Reynolds, before Cameron Murray threw a slick pass to Graham.
Graham used his good left foot step to beat Gutherson to the line.
Reynolds, who rarely misses, converted again for the lead to extend to 28-0 with just over 30 minutes remaining.
Brad Arthur’s men could have been again on the receiving end of a try but were denied due to a correct forward pas ruling.
It was that sort of night for the Eels; they were disallowed a third try after obstruction was ruled.
With thirteen minutes remaining, man of the match Reynolds got a deserved try.
As is very common with many plays from the Rabbitohs, it started with the man himself.
It ended with Paulo throwing a nice ball under pressure to find the in-form number seven to score an easy try.
The man of the moment missed the opportunity to convert his own try but it still took the Rabbitohs out to a very comfortable lead of 32 points to nil.
Graham would snare his second try to put the icing on the cake.
A determined effort from Walker, he off-loaded to Corey Allan who threw a great long ball to Graham.
With a run against the grain, he crossed relatively untouched.
Reynolds kicked the conversion for the Rabbitohs to win very comfortably 38 points to nil.
With South Sydney’s eleven line breaks to two and with the Eels missing over 50 tackles the score line flattered the Eels.
The last 3 occasions the Eels had held their opposition scoreless the previous week they have been defeated the following week.
Although he was not hitting the panic button yet, Arthur criticised his side for not being able to build a game properly.
“We’re not a team at the moment that’s prepared to roll our sleeves up and build a game,” Arthur said.
“I am very surprised.
“We were not prepared to roll the sleeves up and play the long game and build our game.
“Last week we were prepared to do that but we still lacked a bit of patience last week then straight away second or third set tonight we lacked patience [forcing a pass to lose possession].
“You have to be able to defend it. You can’t say our defence is good if you leak 38 points.”
NRL News Player of the Game
3 – Adam Reynolds
2 – Cody Walker
1 – Corey Allan
