Round nine
Rabbitohs:The warning signs of the Rabbitohs’ defence a week earlier were laid bare by Melbourne Storm as the premiers embarrassed South Sydney,thrashing them 50-0. It was a man from their neighbourhood who caused the most damage. Josh Addo-Carr – a Redfern boy who plays for Redfern All Blacks in the Koori knockout – caused nightmares for his local club,scoring six tries to become the first player to do so in a premiership match in more than 70 years.
Panthers:While the Rabbitohs had 50 points put on them in round nine,the Panthers won by almost the same margin. There seemed to be no stopping Penrith as they won their ninth straight of the season,thrashing the Sharks 48-0. Charlie Staines scored a hat-trick in front of a home crowd while Nathan Cleary was perfect with the boot,kicking eight from eight.
Round 10
Rabbitohs:South Sydney bounced back from their thrashing by the Storm the week before to snare a somewhat fortuitous win over the Sharks. They beat Cronulla 32-22 but benefitted from a very generous decision to award them a penalty late in the match that led to a match-winning try by Cody Walker. Despite the fortuitous call,their coach Wayne Bennett still took aim at the bunker after the game.
Panthers:Nathan Cleary produced another masterclass as the Panthers ran riot against Gold Coast,thrashing the Titans 48-12 in Brisbane. Cleary scored three tries,produced two try assists,three line-breaks and landed eight goals in the win as he killed all debate over who should wear the No.7 jersey for NSW in the upcoming State of Origin series.
Round 11
Rabbitohs:After Souths and Penrith met for the first time this season,few would have thought this would be a grand final match-up. The Panthers continued their blistering form against a hapless Rabbitohs side,thrashing South Sydney 56-12 in Dubbo. Fittingly,it was a local boy who was the star of the show.
Penrith’s Matt Burton scored three tries in his trip back home to Dubbo as he continued his rise from utility to genuine star of the high-flying Panthers. The win continued their perfect start to the season as they made it 11 from 11 while the Rabbitohs looked anything but title challengers having now conceded 50 or more to both Penrith and the Storm.
Round 12
Rabbitohs:After being humiliated a week prior by the Panthers,South Sydney bounced back with an impressive 38-20 win over Parramatta. The highlight of the result was the performance of their Indigenous stars in the game’s Indigenous round. Dane Gagai and Alex Johnston both scored three tries each in the Rabbitohs’ seven-try win.
Panthers:The Panthers showed no signs of slipping up against the cellar dwellers and maintained their perfect start to the season with a comfortable 30-4 win over Canterbury. In the last match before Origin,six Penrith stars sealed their selection in the NSW side following the win over the Bulldogs,while another,Kurt Capewell,was called up by Queensland.
Round 13
Rabbitohs - BYE
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Panthers:The pride of having seven players called up to state of Origin led to the crashing end of the Panthers’ dream run. Away to Wests Tigers – the former club of coach Ivan Cleary – the under-strength Panthers came unstuck,losing 26-6 at Leichhardt Oval. Cleary was heckled by Tigers fans and blew them a kiss.
Round 14
Rabbitohs:Less than a year earlier,South Sydney were looking to cut winger Alex Johnston. After securing a contract extension,the lad from La Perouse continued the best season of his career with yet another hat-trick as the Rabbitohs beat Newcastle 24-10.
Panthers:The curse of Origin struck again for the Panthers,who rested five of their stars for the match against Cronulla and paid the price. A last-minute field goal by Shaun Johnson sealed a 19-18 win over Penrith.
Round 15
Rabbitohs:Wayne Bennett’s 200th game as a coach at Suncorp Stadium couldn’t have been scripted better. After a bitter falling-out with the Broncos,Bennett returned to oversee a record 46-0 thrashing of his former club.
Panthers:After two straight defeats,any signs of the wheels falling off the Panthers’ season were quashed with an impressive 38-12 win over the Roosters. Brian To’o and Stephen Crichton were the stars with two tries each as Penrith were formidable once again with all their Origin stars back.
Round 16
Rabbitohs:At an empty Leichhardt Oval,Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds tormented the Tigers’ defence as they guided South Sydney to a 38-22 win over Wests Tigers. The scoreline flattered the hosts as South Sydney scored 26 unanswered points in the first round of games played after the Sydney COVID-19 outbreak.
Panthers:The absence of Nathan Cleary due to a shoulder injury led to a few nervous moments for the Panthers against Parramatta but his stand-in,Matt Burton,showed he was more than a capable deputy. He produced a match-winning field goal to seal a 13-12 win over the Eels.
Round 17
Rabbitohs:Alex Johnston’s scintillating form continued as the winger scored his third hat-trick of the season in the Rabbitohs 46-18 thrashing of North Queensland. However,the star of the show was Cody Walker,who set up three tries and produced five line-break assists.
Panthers - Bye
Round 18
Rabbitohs:Souths continued their decent form with a 32-24 win over the bottom-placed Bulldogs in a match remembered for one of the more bizarre sin-bin offences of the season. Bulldogs playmaker Lachlan Lewis tackled and flung Souths’ Cody Walker to the ground during half-time,sparking a melee.
Panthers:The Panthers’ 30-16 win over the Warriors was a routine victory made easier due to the New Zealanders suffering a horror run of injuries. Four injuries in the first half reduced New Zealand to just 13 available players for the second half with no interchange options on the bench.
Round 19
Rabbitohs:South Sydney scored 11 tries in their 60-22 demolition of the Warriors in round 19 but their coach Wayne Bennett couldn’t look past the manner in which they conceded their four tries. It was just the fourth time Souths had scored 60 points or more but Bennett was unhappy with their defence,rating the victory as “about a six out of 10”.
Panthers:Under-strength and unimpressive,Penrith had to work hard for their win over the Broncos. They scraped an 18-12 victory despite missing 66 tackles,uncharacteristically poor by their standards. Tellingly,the main talking point of the match was a reckless high tackle by the Broncos’ Tom Flegler that knocked out Penrith’s Isaah Yeo.
Round 20
Rabbitohs:Souths racked up another big score with a 50-14 thrashing of the Dragons. The spine of Adam Reynolds,Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker was unstoppable as the Rabbitohs made it six successive games where they had scored six tries or more.
Panthers:Having won 12 straight at the start of the season,the Panthers fell to a comfortable second behind the Storm after their round 20 clash. Melbourne were far too comfortable in their 37-10 win over Penrith,who were far from their best,even considering the absence of several key players.
Round 21
Rabbitohs:By this point in the season,the Rabbitohs were breaking records almost every weekend. In their 40-12 win over Parramatta,outgoing local hero Adam Reynolds etched a personal one that could stand for several decades. The halfback became the club’s all-time leading pointscorer,overtaking Eric Simms.
Panthers:The Panthers survived a light fightback to clinch a vital 20-14 win over the Roosters and consolidated their place in the top two. It was another match where Matt Burton showed why he’s more than just a back-up,scoring two brilliant tries while filling in the No.7 jersey in place of Nathan Cleary.
Round 22
Rabbitohs:After an inconsistent beginning,Souths were on the march and notched their 10th successive win with a dominant 36-6 win over the Titans. It was the first time since 1989 they had won 10 straight and the eighth successive match in which they scored 30 points or more.
Panthers:After a six-week absence due to a shoulder injury,Nathan Cleary returned for the Panthers to help them secure a 34-16 win over the Dragons. Brent Naden and Dylan Edwards overshadowed the usual suspects in the back line,both bagging a brace each in the six-try victory.
Round 23
By round 23,South Sydney were in stark contrast to the team thrashed by the Panthers in Dubbo earlier in the season. When they faced Penrith for the second time that season,they looked to have turned a corner. Souths scored twice early to take a 12-0 lead after just 20 minutes and looked good value to extend their winning streak to 11 games. However,the next hour was forgettable for the Rabbitohs.
They collapsed to a 25-12 defeat to a youthful Penrith with Nathan Cleary masterminding the win with his excellent kicking game. Stephen Crichton impressed as a makeshift fullback in place of the injured Dylan Edwards,while Paul Momirovski had a great game on the wing. It was another example of the depth of Penrith’s squad,in particular their back line.
Round 24
Rabbitohs:Derbies have been something to enjoy for the Rabbitohs in recent years and their last was bittersweet. Souths thrashed the Roosters 54-12 but the celebrations were overshadowed by a reckless high shot by Latrell Mitchell on his former teammate Joseph Manu. Mitchell would later cop a lengthy ban that ended his season.
Panthers:Penrith sealed second spot with a routine 30-16 win over the hapless Wests Tigers,who offered little resistance to the machine-like Panthers. Nathan Cleary kicked five from five and became the second youngest player to score 1000 first-grade points.
Round 25
Rabbitohs:With Latrell Mitchell suspended and a host of senior players rested,the Rabbitohs deployed a youthful side against the Dragons and still won 20-14. Blake Taaffe got his first shot at the No.1 jersey and looked comfortable in place of Mitchell while youngster Lachlan Ilias impressed at halfback to show why the club wasn’t keen to keep Adam Reynolds for two more seasons.
Panthers:Ivan Cleary toyed with resting his stars ahead of the finals but couldn’t resist a shot at the minor premiership. The result was a resounding 40-6 thrashing of the Eels with Brian To’o scoring a hat-trick in just his second game back after ankle surgery. Seven of the Panthers tries came down the left edge in what was an ominous warning to finals challengers.
Finals week one
Rabbitohs:They had struggled in all of their games against the top two this season but when the Rabbitohs needed it most,they produced their best. Souths defied the odds to secure a 16-10 win over the high-flying Panthers,who had beaten them twice already this season. Deputising for Latrell Mitchell,youngster Blake Taaffe was more than solid in defence while Adam Reynolds put in yet another brilliant performance that made rusted-on Rabbitohs bemoan his impending departure.
His kicking game kept Souths in control,kicking three penalty goals like a rugby union fly-half. However it was the inspiring display of Tom Burgess off the bench that was perhaps the most pivotal. He ran more than 200 metres.
The match was remembered for the infamous barb-trading between Wayne Bennett and Ivan Cleary,as the South Sydney coach accused Penrith of using blockers to shield their kickers.
Finals week two
Panthers:One of the best games of the season was also the lowest scoring. Penrith survived an almighty scare to edge Parramatta 8-6 in an elimination final that was as hard fought as it was tense. Neither side gave an inch in the most desperate of defensive games with a Nathan Cleary penalty goal all that separated the two sides from the city’s west.
So fine were the margins that the Eels complained of the intervention of the Penrith trainer for an apparent injury as they were attacking. So tight was the contest that most neutrals would have seen validity to their frustration.
Finals week three
Rabbitohs: South Sydney reached the decider in emphatic fashion,thrashing Manly 36-16 with an attacking display that’s become the trademark of their season. At the fulcrum of their performance was Cody Walker. The five-eighth ran the show for Souths,scoring twice himself while setting up room for their lightning-quick backs Jaxson Paulo,Alex Johnston and Campbell Graham to inflict more damage.
Reynolds battled his way through the match with an injured hamstring,handing the kicking duties to rookie Blake Taaffe. Only a late fightback from Manly made the scoreline look somewhat respectable.
Panthers:If Melbourne Storm weren’t a hard enough obstacle,facing them in searing heat was how the Panthers had to reach the grand final. Even in a stifling Brisbane afternoon,Penrith started with cool heads. A stunning cross-field kick from Nathan Cleary at dummy-half led to a try in the opening minutes.
From then,this season’s best defensive side put in their biggest shift yet and kept the Storm scoreless for over an hour. Even when their back line was breached,the floodgates didn’t open and the Panthers held on for a 10-6 win in the preliminary final.
For all your grand final news,previews,features and analysis,The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Sun-Herald have got you covered across the weekend.
Tune in from 6.30pm on Sunday for the Herald’s live grand final blog,manned by Tom Decent and Sam Phillips,and with the expert views of Michael Chammas.