Biff’s back as Mitchell Pearce inspires Knights upset win over Rabbitohs
Newcastle have continued their giant killing run with an upset victory over the high flying Rabbitohs, with star playmaker Mitchell Pearce leading the way for his side.
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Nathan Brown has issued a sensational challenge to NSW coach Brad Fittler to hand Mitchell Pearce a State of Origin recall - but only if Fittler is prepared to drop Nathan Cleary and let Pearce run the team on his own.
It came after another Pearce master class in Newcastle’s 20-12 victory over South Sydney was overshadowed by a wild brawl that resulted in four players sin binned.
In stunning scenes at ANZ Stadium, Sam and Tom Burgess were accused of head butting and both marched for a 10-minute spell along with Newcastle pair Daniel Saifiti and Lachlan Fitzgibbon after a fight just before halftime that also involved, get this, real punches.
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But in a statement sure to spark its own Origin argument, Brown also declared Cleary played like a five-eighth and not a halfback, indicating that Pearce would be better suited alongside Cody Walker.
“I look at Mitch as a player who has to do play on play, and if the style of footy is go and stand on one side of the field and not double up on plays they may as well let Pearcey sit in the lounge room,” Brown said.
Despite the absence of some star attractions with Kalyn Ponga and David Klemmer along with Rabbitohs halves Adam Reynolds and Walker, the match was still worthy of a top four showdown — with Newcastle making it six straight victories and their first over the Rabbitohs since 2011.
For the Knights, Pearce and hooker Connor Watson were exceptional while the raw-boned Saifiti led the way up front.
It sets up a huge match against competition leaders Melbourne next Saturday.
PEARCE SAYS PICK ME
Pearce’s performance was five-star, with Fox League expert Michael Ennis declaring: “I haven’t seen him play like this before”.
The question now is not if Pearce should get a NSW call up, but how can they possibly pick Cleary at halfback ahead of him?
Going into Friday night’s game Pearce was already on a run of five consecutive man-of-the-match performances, and the way he orchestrated the victory over Souths only reaffirmed that his form can’t be ignored.
But while all the talk is that if Pearce gets a call it will most likely be to replace Walker at five-eighth to partner Cleary, Brown had his own theory.
“If they want a half that is going to dominate the ball and then say feed Cody Walker I’d say Pearcey is your man,” Brown continued.
“In my opinion they have two five eighths playing (at the moment). I think young Nathan at this stage of his career is more a five eighth than a halfback.”
PUNCHES AND HEAD BUTTS
Pearce labelled Sam’s alleged head butt on Fitzgibbon “a dog shot”, but it was Tom’s effort on Saifiti that looked the worse of the two.
No doubt the NRL’s match review committee will study replays, although a charge won’t matter for Sam who is heading for shoulder surgery that will sideline him for five weeks.
Pearce was livid, demanding referee Grant Atkins send off one of the Rabbitohs, though Wayne Bennett was not nearly as outraged.
“What do you mean disappointed? We are playing a man’s game,” Bennett said.
But while the Rabbitohs continued to let their emotions get the better of them, the young Knights dug in and rubbed it in.
If there was any question about them not being a serious contender in this premiership race, Friday night’s performance minus Klemmer was an absolute statement.
“Souths had some class players out as far as creative players,” Brown said. “But they had their pack there and for our pack to do a good job I thought was pleasing.”
Tom Burgess was also placed on report for a clumsy trip late in the match.
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JIMMY THE JET IS BACK
If Bennett was looking for a positive to come out of Friday night’s defeat, the Rabbitohs’ first back-to-back losses this year, than the arrival of James Roberts was it.
Roberts scored a try on his return and while he looked underdone after a month out of the NRL his speed is certainly going to be a huge asset as the season rolls on.
NEWCASTLE 20 (M Barnett H Hunt C Watson tries M Lino 4 goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY 12 (S Burgess JRoberts tries D Gagai 2 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: David Munro, Grant Atkins. Crowd: 8,253.
Originally published as Biff’s back as Mitchell Pearce inspires Knights upset win over Rabbitohs
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