NRL match report: South Sydney 32 St George Illawarra 24
Fittingly for the start of the Indigenous round, Cody Walker and Alex Johnston played starring roles as Souths bounced back from a dreadful start and the loss of their skipper to sink St George Illawarra.
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The magic of South Sydney’s Indigenous players helped them rise off the canvas and overturn an early 16-0 deficit to down St George Illawarra 32-24.
In a fitting start to Indigenous Round, all 32 Rabbitohs points were scored by First Nations peoples - Alex Johnston landed a hat-trick and Cody Walker a double with Latrell Mitchell chipping in with a try of his own and four goals.
It was as fluent an attacking display as South Sydney have had all year - Walker was sublime, but Mitchell chimed in well when required and showed plenty of the sharp passing that’s become so notable in his game this year.
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The Dragons will walk away frustrated - given their early lead and the Rabbitohs losing halfback and skipper Adam Reynolds to injury in the opening minutes they must feel they let this one slip.
Given they’ll finish the round two wins outside the top eight it could be a loss that comes back to bite them.
WALKER’S ON
The Rabbitohs looked dead in the water when Reynolds went off with a neck injury after an awkward challenge from Tariq Sims and the Dragons shot out to a healthy lead.
But Walker rose to the occasion magnificently - he got the Rabbitohs fightback underway with a sharp individual try and helped create a four-pointer for Mitchell right on halftime that levelled the scores at 16-all at the break.
Walker’s run continued when he created Johnson’s second try with a beautiful, delayed pass and he completed his double when he flew onto a short ball from interchange prop Mark Nicholls from close range a few minutes later.
The Dragons didn’t go away until the final minutes but Walker’s brilliance took the game away from the Red V.
It was reminiscent of the form that won Walker a New South Wales Origin jersey last year. If Reynolds is out, even for a short time, the Rabbitos will miss him badly, but if Walker maintains this type of form they’ll be able to get by.
Walker played both sides of the field, did the majority of the kicking, steered the team around the park with ease and looked dangerous with every touch.
WHY IS AJ FOR SALE?
The Rabbitohs will let Alex Johnston walk at the end of 2020, but it’s difficult to understand why given his recent form.
Johnston scored three tries, including two long-range intercept efforts, and proved he’d be a terrific addition for a great many clubs.
Given he’s a local junior who has admitted he is desperate to remain a one-club man, it would be a tremendous shame if Johnston was to leave Souths, even if it appears inevitable at this point.
COOK IT UP
It’s been a quiet season for Rabbitohs superstar Damien Cook, but he had one of the best games for the year in this victory.
There was no long burst or scorching try from the New South Wales and Australian dummy half, but Cook was terrific with his work committing the markers and creating space for his forwards.
After their early struggles, the Rabbitohs dominated the middle of the field and Cook played a major role in them gaining control.
DUFFMAN AT IT AGAIN
Before Walker took the match over the Dragons raced to a 16-0 lead in as many minutes early with the opening stages belonging to Matt Dufty and Matt Dufty alone.
The in-form flyer scored the opening try when he supported Corey Norman after the five-eighth scooped up a loose ball and he set up the next with a precision pass to Euan Aitken, which marked his ninth try assist of the season.
He completed his double soon thereafter by creating a break for Aitken with a fine piece of deceptive playmaking before he backed up the blockbusting centre to score.
Dufty didn’t have it all his own way - he threw a ball that Souths winger Alex Johnston picked off and took the length of the field to score - but his scintillating early display is an indication of how far he’s come as a player in 2020, and the Dragons look dangerous whenever he’s involved.
Dragons star deserves to be in finest fullback discussions
He has been one of the quickest players in the league ever since he debuted in 2017 but was in and out of the Dragons starting side for much of the time since — as recently as this off-season he was not the club’s top choice at the back.
But there’s no more doubt when it comes to Dufty — after he was overlooked for Zac Lomax for the season opener, Dufty was reinstated at fullback for Round 2 and hasn’t looked back since, emerging as one of the Dragons best attacking players and one of the most dangerous fullbacks in the league.
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Dufty always had the speed to trouble defenders, but his ball-playing has improved out of sight in 2020 - according to Fox Sports Stats, he has eight try assists to his name in nine matches - the second most of any regular fullback.
“I think it’s always been there. He’s always had that skill set, it’s just giving him the confidence,” said Dragons assistant coach Shane Flanagan.
“I think the belief we’ve got in him as coaches has given him confidence, that ‘you are our fullback and we’re going with you all year and we’re not going to change’.
“It’s given him confidence in his footy, belief that he is the Dragons number one.
“His main strength is his speed, but he’s also got a really good knowledge and understanding of football, especially fullback play.
“We don’t have to educate him too much on where to be, offensively or defensively.
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“He’s always had it, he just needed to be confident, to know when to pass and when not to pass, or when to run or when to offload.
“Having the whereabouts and knowledge of fullback play, added to his speed, and then the confidence he has at the moment - whether it’s derived from what the coaches have given him or over the last few weeks he’s just starting to believe that he is an NRL fullback, add those three things together and that’s why he’s playing well,” Flanagan said.
The rest of Dufty’s game is still there to see - he has eight tries for the year, the most of any full-time fullback in the league - but his evolution as a passer helps him become more dangerous as a runner.
He’s also improved at link with the rest of the Dragons spine up the centre of the field and he’s never lost the pace which made him such a danger from the jump. Dufty is still the kind of player you can forget about once he gets into the clear because it’s doubtful anyone around can run him down.
Dufty’s SG Ball coach, Dragons legend Ben Hornby, was one man who always knew more refined skill lurked within Dufty - after all, Dufty was a halfback as a junior before moving to fullback once he signed with the Red V.
“I’m not surprised at all. Duff’s always had the ability, he just had to find his feet in first grade and he’s had a good run of games now and everyone’s seeing what he’s capable of,” Hornby said.
“He’s done it at every level he’s played at, I’ve seen it many times, his great speed but also his great vision with the passing.”
The stats back Hornby up - in 2016, Dufty’s final year in the Under 20s, he notched 22 try assists and 21 line break assists in 22 games.
If Dufty continues at his current pace - he had eight try assists and seven line break assists in nine games heading into Thursday night’s clash - he may well match, or eclipse those numbers, and he’ll certainly not be short of chances given the Dragons have begun to build some of their attack around his talents.
According to Hornby - who is now on the staff at South Sydney, the Dragons’ opponents on Thursday - that heavy involvement is the key to getting the best out of the 24-year old.
“When he was in and out of first grade he wasn’t getting the ball as much as he’s getting it now,” Hornby said.
“He’s a guy who needs to touch the ball regularly, the more he touches it the more confident he gets and things start to happen for him.”
For his part, Flanagan has only come to know Dufty this year after joining the Dragons as an assistant but he’s been impressed with Dufty’s maturity and willingness to learn, even in difficult spots.
Case in point was last weekend - after another strong game where he set up two tries, Dufty fumbled a difficult tryscoring chance that could have given the Dragons a late lead against Cronulla.
“He was so filthy after that, because he believes that’s his job to nail those types of things,” Flanagan said.
“To have that attitude - ‘I’ve got to get those, I’ve got to be better there’ - is a sign of how he’s changed and matured.
“He’s a pleasure to coach, some players think they know everything but Duff is a player who wants to learn and wants to improve.”
Originally published as NRL match report: South Sydney 32 St George Illawarra 24