NRL 2020: South Sydney Rabbitohs beat Wests Tigers 18-10 | Match Report
Latrell Mitchell and Josh Reynolds could be in hot water after a fiery incident involving swinging arms and kicks to the head as Souths mastered the wet conditions better to beat Wests Tigers.
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One swinging arm is bad enough, two swinging arms could spell a stint on the sideline for South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell.
But he isn’t the only one facing some time on the pine.
Josh Reynolds is also in hot water following a fiery incident involving Mitchell in the Rabbitohs’ 18-10 victory over the Wests Tigers at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night.
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* Titans 16 Warriors 12: Read the full report
Tigers five-eighth Reynolds was placed on report for an “indiscriminate kick” to the head of South Sydney’s Campbell Graham after a scrappy passage of ball.
Both players were scrambling for a loose ball with Reynolds finding Campbell’s head instead of the ball as he attempted a kick.
Mitchell in particular took great offence to the incident and came in to defend his teammate with a swinging arm, which collected Reynolds across the jaw.
Mitchell wasn’t placed on report but might also be in trouble with the Match Review Committee with replays showing the Rabbitohs fullback didn’t miss.
Fox League commentator Braith Anasta said Mitchell was fortunate to have not copped any on-field punishment for it.
“He can’t react like that. He’s probably lucky to stay on the field and might find himself in some trouble,” Anasta said.
“I reckon the judiciary will look at both incidents because you can’t kick even if it’s an accident and you can’t retaliate like Latrell did,” Cooper Cronk added.
A heated verbal exchange took between the two players following the incident with Reynolds reacting to an allegation from Mitchell that the kick was deliberate.
“You think I meant it, d---head? Wake up to yourself, ‘f---wit,” Reynolds was caught spraying at Mitchell over the referee’s mic.
Graham was forced from the field for a head injury assessment following the incident but was cleared of a concussion and returned in the 20th minute.
The Tigers lost centre Joey Leilua for four weeks after he was charged for an off the ball incident involving a swinging arm on Penrith’s Dylan Edwards in round eight.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett insisted he didn’t see Mitchell’s shot but said Reynolds’ kick “didn’t look great”.
“I didn’t see that, I just saw what happened with Campbell Graham on the ground, so I was looking at that so I didn’t notice what happened after that. I thought he (Graham) was knocked out and we were probably going to lose a player to the head bin. It didn’t look great.
Mitchell was then placed on report for another swinging arm, this time on Tigers forward Luke Garner in the 62nd minute.
BENJI MARSHALL
“He has to bring Benji on now,” Channel Nine commentator Andrew Johns said as Marshall sat on the sideline in the second half with the Tigers trailing 14-0 on the scoreboard.
Tigers coach Michael Maguire finally relented and injected Marshall into the game with 30 minutes left on the clock.
“It was to help us steer the back end of the game and those things, it’s something we are lacking in the last couple of weeks but it wasn’t to be. We have to make sure we find field position and every individual has to make sure they do their part for the team,” Maguire said after the game.
It was Marshall’s first game for the Tigers since Maguire axed the club legend since the Tigers loss to the Gold Coast in round four.
HARD EDGE, FINE LINE
It’s a part of the Wests Tigers character that had been missing until coach Michael Maguire ahead of the 2019 season. It’s taken over 18 months but the Tigers appear to be finally showing the grittiness and the hard edge their premiership winning coach is famous for instilling into his sides.
“They have a hard edge, it’s a reflection of their coach … they look like they are deliberately trying to get under the skin of their opposition, it boiled over last week against the Panthers and lost a player (Joey Leilua) because of it. It’s a fine line,” Phil Gould said.
But the Tigers lost much of that hard edge in the second half. If the Concord club is going to make a return to finals football for the first time since 2011, they need to maintain that grittiness over the full eighty minutes.
WARM-UP CURSE
The warm-up curse continued on Friday night with the Rabbitohs losing forward Liam Knight to an ankle injury during the warm-up.
“It’s the most overrated part, the warm up … it’s like a training session,” Phil Gould said, questioning the necessity of high intensity warm-ups in the modern game.
On Thursday night, the Roosters also lost winger Brett Morris to a groin injury in the warm-up for their clash against the North Queensland Cowboys.
RABBITOHS 18 (Tries: Gagai 3, Roberts. Goals: Reynolds 1/5) beat TIGERS 10 (Tries: Aloai, Hoffman. Goals: Mbye 1/2) at Bankwest Stadium.
TITANS BREAK YEAR LONG DROUGHT IN MIRACLE COMEBACK
—Chris Honnery
The jerseys might have been an eyesore but at least the scoreline was a pleasing sight for the Titans as they clinched a 16-12 victory against the Warriors to end their year-long winning drought at home.
Trailing 12-10 with 15 minutes to go, the Titans seemed down and out with million-dollar man Ash Taylor injured and taken from the field.
But up stepped young halfback Jamal Fogarty.
A 75th minute grubber kick by Fogarty into the in-goal was pounced on by young gun Beau Fermor – in just his second NRL game – to seal the win in the dying minutes of the game.
It was a gutsy effort by the home side despite an error-riddled game, epitomised by a busted Keegan Hipgrave spurring on his teammates to victory.
Hipgrave was in “a lot of pain” after the match and will undergo scans this weekend after a 29th minute tackle left him clutching his shoulder and continued to do so for a further 40 minutes before he was substituted to the bench.
Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook said it wasn’t pretty but the resilient win was very rewarding for the club.
“We had backrowers playing centres and we’re a pretty busted side at the moment and wwe haven’t won here for a while so to get a win, I’m just happy,” Holbrook said.
“Keegs (Hipgrave) is in a lot of pain and not in a good way but that’s what we needed. For him to keep going as long as he did, played a huge factor in us winning the game.
“The easy thing for us at half time was that we couldn’t have played any worse.
“We couldn’t get going in the first half.
“I’m really happy with the way we just hung in there.”
The win takes the pressure off the Titans, for now, who now face a daunting month, with clashes against three of the top four clubs in the Storm, Panthers and then the Roosters.
It also takes the Gold Coast two spots clear of the Broncos on the ladder, in more bad news for the struggling Brisbane club.
THE BUSH SHIRT
New Zealand’s controversial “bush shirt” uses traditional Wellington colours of yellow and black and was hoped to “spark some joy” amid the current global crisis.
But instead, it sparked nothing but criticism in Friday’s game on the Gold Coast.
From “nanna’s tea towel” to a “picnic rug”, the jersey copped plenty of flak online.
The players didn’t seem fazed by their appearance but it may not be coming back any time soon.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Last night’s win ends the Titans 10-game losing streak at their home ground.
It hasn’t been since Round 6 last year when the Titans last got to celebrate a win in front of their home fans.
And it all came off the back of the Titans young, inexperienced players like Fermor (matchwinning try), Fogarty (try assist) and Moeakie Fotuaika (126 running metres, 4 tackle busts).
HOME SWEET HOME
Last night’s win ends the Titans 10-game losing streak at their home ground.
It hasn’t been since Round 6 last year when the Titans last got to celebrate a win in front of their home fans.
And weren’t the 5206 fans happy.
CENTRES OF ATTENTION
On several occasions, the Warriors took advantage of the Gold Coast’s two centres Bryce Cartwright and Fermor.
Why? Because they’re both traditionally edge forwards and not outside backs.
Injuries forced Holbrook to reshuffle the backline and chanced his hand by playing his two versatile backrowers at No.3 and No.4.
An absolute brain fade by Cartwright in the first half nearly gifted the Warriors an easy try if not for a contentious penalty call by the video referee.
Warriors forward Jack Hetherington, on loan to the club from Penrith, seemed to bag his first NRL try but was denied by the bunker, much to the dislike of the rugby league community.
In the end, Fermor made up for the four missed tackles and three errors between them by scoring the winning try.
RTS
It took Roger Tuivasa-Sheck just three minutes to stamp his authority on the game, exposing the Titan’s very inexperienced left edge.
Gold Coast debutant Treymain Spry was caught out as was his inside centre Fermor in just his second first-grade match.
The Kiwi skipper finished the match with 236 running metres and nine tackle busts.
Titans 16 (Tries: Don, Stone, Fermor & Goals: Taylor 1/2, Fogarty 1/1) beat Warriors 12 (Tries: Tuivasa-Scheck, Maumalo & Goals: Chanel Harris-Tavita 2/2) at Cbus Super Stadium.