Cowboys survive late scare to win 24-16 over Rabbitohs in NRL Round 6 clash

The Cowboys’ season is officially back on track, surviving a some late Latrell Mitchell magic to secure their third straight win, as the Rabbitohs’ horror recent Perth record continues.

The jury is still out on Latrell Mitchell’s experiment in the halves after Reece Robson and Jason Taumalolo led the Cowboys to a third straight victory in the second fixture of the double header at Optus Stadium in Perth.

Three second half tries in 11 minutes courtesy of Sam McIntyre and a double to Jaxon Purdue, including a classy individual effort in broken play, cemented a 24-16 win and moved the Cowboys into reach of the top eight.

The loss was just Souths second in Wayne Bennett’s return and stretched the Rabbitohs winless streak in Perth to five.

Robson said the performances of some of the Cowboys youngsters as well as a renewed focus on effort was what has propelled his side forward over the last three weeks.

“Obviously it wasn’t a great start of the year, but I guess it’s just finding our feet as a team,” Robson said.

“Obviously lacking a few players that have left and moved on to other clubs, like Val (Holmes), Chaddy (Townsend) and Kyle Feldt, so I guess some of those new boys, like you’re just chatting to Jacko (Purdue) there, he’s just finding his way in the NRL and finding his feet and he’s definitely found that over the last three rounds.

“He’s been great for us and Rob Derby, he’s come into the wing there and he’s been great getting us out of trouble there.

“Those boys have really lifted the last few weeks and we knew we’re gonna have to work hard and effort areas were going to have to turn it around and I reckon that’s what we’ve been working really well the last few weeks at, and that’s probably what’s gotten a few wins on the board for us.”

The Cowboys survived a late scare to secure their third straight win to get their season back on track. Picture: Getty Images

North Queensland coach Todd Payten agreed with Robson and said the Cowboys had overcome a challenging start to the season with plenty of time away from Townsville as they head into the bye next week.

“Very happy, we spoke about it through the week, how important it is,” Payten said.

“Very proud of the club and the group, given how we started and it’s been a difficult way to start the season, if you include our trials, we’ve been on the road six out of eight weeks.

“So, we’re going to use this little break over the Easter weekend to reenergize and reconnect with families and loved ones and be ready to go again when we come back into training. So really happy.”

Mitchell’s start at five eighth left as many questions as answers.

In the first half, playing solely on the left side and acting as the Rabbitoh’s predominant kicker, Mitchell laid on a try and threatened a few times but failed to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

In the second stanza he kicked well downfield but again failed to impact the game in attack until he put Jye Gray through for a try.

Souths were decimated by injuries in their gutsy win over the Roosters last week, halves Jamie Humphreys and Cody Walker gone with hamstring injuries prior to the break, with winger Mikaele Ravalawa joining them in hammy-rehab not long after.

Those injuries forced them to go with a new halves pairing of Mitchell at six and Jayden Sullivan the halfback today.

The jury is still out on Latrell Mitchell’s switch to five-eighth. Picture: Getty Images

Post match Bennett had a simple message on Micthell’s future in the halves if Walker remains unavailable.

“If Cody doesn’t play, Latrell will be there,” the supercoach said.

The Cowboys, playing their first match in Western Australia since 1997, opened the scoring a quarter of the way through the game via a penalty goal after Souths failed to pack the scrum in time.

Minutes later Mitchell’s silky pass put Euan Aitken through for a try in his first game for the Rabbitohs following his recovery from a pectoral injury.

Murray Taulagi put the Cowboys ahead four minutes before the break and Payten would have been counting his blessings at halftime, up 6-4 despite a bumbling performance that saw his side complete at just 66 percent, kept in the game by some desperate defence from Tom Deardon and some brilliant work out of dummy half from Robson.

Souths scored the first and last tries of the second half but the three scores to the Cowboys sealed the win.

Despite the loss the Rabbitohs’ 4-2 start to the season sets up a mouthwatering Good Friday clash with the undefeated Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.

BLUE REECE

Cowboys hooker Reece Robson let NSW coach Laurie Daley know he’s back in form and ready to be picked for Origin One on May 28.

The classy rake laid on a go ahead second half try with a deft kick for McIntyre and was a constant threat from dummy half, amassing 141 run metres and made 41 tackles in a typically busy display.

Robson started all three Origin games for NSW last year but has had an indifferent start to the season after signing a four-year deal with the Roosters in the off season. He was back to his best today.

Reece Robson is finding form at the right time of the year, producing his best performance of the year as State of Origin approaches. Picture: Getty Images

JT IS BACK

Jason Taumalolo was immense in the middle for the Cowboys.

After missing the start of the season due to a Lisfranc injury suffered while representing Tonga in the year-end Pacific Championships, the veteran forward rumbled his way up field throughout both of his stints on the field, attracting three and four defenders at a time.

He easily had the most runs and metres of any forward on the field, while getting through almost 50 minutes of work.

GIRL DAD JAI

Rabbitohs hardman Jai Arrow only arrived in Perth on Thursday after staying in Sydney to be with his partner Berina for the birth of their first child, a daughter, Ayla, earlier in the week.

Despite the interrupted preparation Arrow got through a mountain of work, scoring the first try of the second half with some handy footwork.

Arrow suffered a leg injury ten minutes into the second period but courageously played on.

RUNNING JYE

Considered to be no more than Latrell Mitchell’s fill-in at the beginning of the season, Dally M medal leader Jye Gray continued his stunning start to the season with another great display.

Gray was dangerous on the kick return, piled up 236 running metres and scored his sixth try in his past seven games.

The diminutive fullback has more than done enough to cement his spot in Wayne Bennett’s team and surely still wears the number one jersey when Campbell Graham, Walker and Ravalawa return to the Souths backline.

Originally published as Cowboys survive late scare to win 24-16 over Rabbitohs in NRL Round 6 clash