South Sydney Rabbitohs first-half blitz leaves Cronulla Sharks in ruins
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are marching on to another preliminary final but it wasn't all smooth sailing despite a dominant victory.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are through to a fifth straight preliminary final and will face a replay of last years' grand final after a thumping 38-12 win over the Cronulla Sharks.
The result means the second-placed Sharks bowed out of the semi-finals in straight sets in its first campaign under Craig Fitzgibbon, while the Rabbitohs will come from seventh and face the Penrith Panthers for a spot in the NRL Grand Final.
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The Rabbitohs are also alive in a bid to be the first side in the NRL era to win the premiership from outside the top four, continuing an epic record of eight prelims in the last 11 seasons.
But it'll be a long week for the Rabbitohs before next Saturday's clash as try machine Alex Johnston, utility Siliva Havili and Origin forward Jai Arrow all left the field.
Havili suffered a calf injury, while Johnston left the ground with a reported cork to the leg. However, Channel 9 reported the Rabbitohs were fearing a hip flexor injury.
But there were concerns for Arrow, who looked in discomfort over a suspected groin injury.
Speaking in the press conference, Souths coach Jason Demetriou said he had high hopes all three injured players would be alright.
"Siliva's got a calf problem, so fingers crossed. The physio thinks if it's not too bad he might be okay," he said.
"Jai's just got a groin thing he's carried for weeks so he'll be fine. Aj's got a hip flexor injury. Again it's not serious but fingers crossed he get stuck into the rehab and with a seven day turnaround we can get him back."
The Rabbitohs will also be sweating on the match review committee after prop Tevita Tatola was cited for a chicken wing tackle.
As expected, Demetriou said he believes Tatola will be alright.
"There's no doubt he puts it in a position where he'll probably get fined but he doesn't go on with it so I think he'll be okay," the Rabbitohs coach added.
Michael Ennis told Fox League: "I think he's in some trouble. I think the first one was an awkward position and the second one he readjusts that."
He added he believed it was a chicken wing.
Gorden Tallis disagreed, saying it was "grade two carry on from the winger and I reckon it's pre-school".
Braith Anasta said it would be a massive call, saying the Rabbitohs "need Tatola to beat Penrith".
But it didn't stop the Rabbitohs going berserk in a dominant display to send the Sharks crashing out of the finals with back-to-back losses.
The first half was an absolute nightmare for the Sharks as the Rabbitohs controlled the play from beginning to end.
Mark Nicholls crashed over in the third minute, while Taane Milne added a second after 29 minutes, before captain Cameron Murray scored a soft try right on halftime to make it 18-0.
Murray hit the line but kept his legs pumping and fend working and brushed straight through the defence for an easy try.
The dominant performance saw fans already calling the result with 40 minutes still to play.
Could be all she wrote after that. Soft try to concede on the hooter. #NRLSharksSouths
— Fraser Barton (@FraserBartonAAP) September 17, 2022
Yikes that is poor from Dale Finucane.
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) September 17, 2022
Game over at half time. #NRLSharksSouths
But the Sharks hit the ground running in the second half, scoring immediately after the break.
The Rabbitohs hit straight back but the Sharks' attacking intent was clear after one of the great passes was all for nought after a try was disallowed.
A bomb was knocked back by Ronaldo Mulitalo, caught by Briton Nikora and spectacularly passed behind his back for Ramien to go and score in the corner.
It was denied after Ramien was seen a step offside from Matt Moylan's kick.
Although Mulitalo was the next to score, racing 95m after Ramien knocked down a pass from Latrell Mitchell to his winger, the no try appeared to be the straw that broke the Sharks, as Souths piled on two more tries to put a score on.
Tallis said he was "a little disappointed by the Sharks", while Corey Parker added it was "their worst performance in their biggest game".
Originally published as South Sydney Rabbitohs first-half blitz leaves Cronulla Sharks in ruins
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