NRL Finals 2020: South Sydney defeat Parramatta in thrilling eliminator
The final four teams in the race to the 2020 NRL premiership are decided, and the three not called South Sydney have been placed on notice after a red-hot run on Saturday night.
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Wayne Bennett is just 80 minutes away from a legend-extending 10th grand final after Damien Cook set up a sudden death with the Panthers by crushing the Eels.
In a five-star semi-final that saw the Eels defy a day of shock to lead at halftime, Cook set up two tries before scoring his own to put Bennett on the cusp of taking three different clubs to the title.
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“Damien Cook was brilliant,” Bennett said.
“I thought he played his best game last week but tonight was better.”
Staring down the barrel off a shock semi-final defeat, Cook combined with Adam Reynolds to save the Rabbitohs season after Clint Gutherson scored two tries and set up another in a freakish five minutes of final’s football.
In a performance that Bennett declared was his best, Cook sparked the second-half blitz when he laid on the first of five tries and then scored the last.
“It was probably our game for 60 minutes or so,” Bennett said.
“They got back into the game with a 10 to 15-minute period.
“We came out in the second half and scored early but we still had to fight for it.”
TIMING THE RABBITOHS’ RUN
After scoring five tries to run down Parramatta and move one step closer to the crown, Bennett said his refusal to flog the Rabbitohs during the COVID-19 break was the secret behind the end-of-season run.
“Some teams trained really hard when we had that break from COVID,” Bennett said.
“We didn’t do that because I wanted them playing well at this time of year.
“We played well at the beginning of last year and then lost our mojo which is what pretty much happened to Parramatta.”
HITTING THE TAPES
Bennett claimed to know nothing about the Panthers, which could be a problem considering they are the only hurdle between him and a record-extending 10th grand-final.
“To be honest they are the team I have watched least all season,” Bennett said.
“We played them early in the season and haven’t come across them again.
“I honestly don’t know much about them. I am being honest and I will have to do some catch up over the next few days.
“I haven’t looked at them.”
Everybody else has.
A quick study will reveal that the Rabbitohs will have to become just the second team to beat them this year to book a spot in the grand final.
And in a clash against the most consistent side in the NRL, the hot-and-cold Rabbitohs will have to be at their blistering best to orchestrate an upset.
“I think we played at about 70 per cent of our ability this week,” Bennett said.
“I think we were better last week. We are going to have to find a bit more and we are going to have the opportunity to do that.
“I am confident we can.”
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THE KING
Clint Gutherson showed why he is called the king when he scored two tries and set up another in a five-minute blitz that gave the Eels hope.
With his team down 8-0 in the 23rd minute and barely holding on, Gutherson almost single-handedly dragged them back into the contest when he went on a romp to send the Eels to the break with an 18-8 lead.
Decimated by injury and dealing with Michael Jennings’ shock positive drug test, the Eels fought hard but were run down in the second half.
“We started well and that wasn’t an excuse,” coach Brad Arthur said.
“There were some big moments in the second half that hurt us.
“The effort was there but we had some dumb moments.
“We let in three soft tries which should not have happened.”
Originally published as NRL Finals 2020: South Sydney defeat Parramatta in thrilling eliminator