NRL 2024: Jack Wighton on report twice as Rabbitohs win 14-0 over Manly Sea Eagles

The Rabbitohs’ resurgence continued as they chalked up their fourth straight win. But they will be sweating on the charge sheet after Jack Wighton was put on report twice against Manly.

Jack Wighton could face suspension after being put on report twice for dangerous tackles. Picture: NRL Imagery

South Sydney’s slim hopes of playing finals footy remain alive after they held off an undermanned Sea Eagles side in the wet on a night Damien Cook showed how much of a loss he’ll be next year.

The 14-0 win at Accor Stadium was their fourth on the trot having managed just one victory from their opening 10 matches which saw them rooted to the foot of the table and cost coach Jason Demetriou his job.

But a year after they squandered top spot to sensationally miss the finals, the Bunnies are on the cusp of one of the great turnarounds and are now just four points outside the top eight with a bye coming up next week.

Just days after announcing his departure from South Sydney, Damien Cook showed how much they will miss him in 2025. Picture: NRL Imagery

Sydney’s wet weather and the drain of State of Origin turned this one into a game the purists even struggled to enjoy, with stadium officials declaring a very generous 10,576 turned up to watch Cook step up with Latrell Mitchell missing.

The veteran rake announced earlier in the week that he’d be off to the Dragons on a two-year deal, and he showed on Saturday that he’s still got plenty of petrol left in the tank with two assists and three line-break assists when everyone else struggled.

Cook set up Richie Kennar for the opening try of the night and was a constant menace through the middle before he put the icing on the cake with a lovely grubber for Keaon Koloamatangi to seal it at the death.

In some bad news for Souths, Jack Wighton was put on report twice for dangerous tackles and could be facing a stint on the sidelines.

Jack Wighton could face suspension after being put on report twice for dangerous tackles. Picture: NRL Imagery

GRAY MATTERS

Losing Latrell to the Blues was always going to hurt the home side’s attack, but Jye Gray made his timely return from injury to provide a much-needed injection of speed from the back.

The diminutive fullback was brave under the high ball and sliced through for a deserved try midway through the first half.

DALY GRIND

There will be plenty of talk on the Northern Beaches about pausing the competition during the Origin period after a depleted Sea Eagles side failed to offer anything in attack as they missed the chance to move up to sixth.

In bad news for Manly, Tommy Talau was also put on report twice. Picture: NRL Imagery

Daly Cherry-Evans, Jake Trbojevic and Haumole Olakau’atu were on Origin duty, Reuben Garrick and Taniela Paseka were both nursing injuries from last week and Tom Trbojevic was still out, with the Sea Eagles forced to play Tommy Talau in the halves with a large chunk of their squad unavailable.

Talau did well to deny Alex Johnston on the stroke of halftime but he dropped a ball to start the second half and then had a try disallowed for obstruction, with halves partner Luke Brooks forced to do the bulk of the kicking.

The night couldn’t have started any worse with Manly burning its challenge after two minutes, and it didn’t get any better with Talau placed on report twice for a late hit on Cody Walker and a high shot on Jai Arrow.