No halves, 14 fit players: Souths miracle win one of Bennett’s greatest in 48 years

Wayne Bennett has described South Sydney’s stunning triumph over the Roosters, sealed with a red and green Latrell Mitchell miracle pass, and just 14 fit players as one of the best wins of his 48-year coaching career.

Mitchell threw what already looms as an iconic pass in Rabbitohs history to seal a 20-14 comeback win on Friday night, which came with both starting halves sidelined and just one fit player on Bennett’s bench.

Playmakers Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and winger Mikaeka Ravalawa will all be sent for scans on hamstring injuries on Saturday morning, with big-money English recruit Lewis Dodd a likely starter against the Cowboys next week.

Already the Rabbitohs were without captain Cameron Murray, Campbell Graham, Tyrone Munro and Alex Johnston.

Bennett has seen it all and then some throughout arguably rugby league’s greatest coaching career, which has spanned more than 1000 games at Queensland Cup, NRL, State of Origin and international level.

“It’s up there. In my coaching career, it’s in the grand final,” Bennett said, unable to recall losing his scrumbase and going on to win.

“To overcome what they overcame tonight against a quality football team that was playing well themselves was pretty special.

Latrell Mitchell celebrates Isaiah Tass’s match-winning try.Credit: Getty Images

“It’s everything. It’s what you want your team to do, it’s what you want to be a part of knowing that they won’t give up.

“Words don’t explain it well enough. It’s the actions, and they’ll stay in your memory for a long time.

“Everybody that played tonight and everybody who saw what they did and the way they overcame adversity after adversity and stayed in the game (will remember that).

“When they went up 14-8, it could’ve been 30-8 in 10 minutes, but we went down the other end and no one was thinking that they couldn’t win. No one was thinking it was over and they stayed at it.”

After defending non-stop throughout the first half, the Roosters had led 14-8 midway through the second half with all the running and the Rabbitohs defensive line a mess.

When Walker didn’t return from the dressing sheds at halftime, and Ravalawa joined he and Humphreys shortly afterwards, Jack Wighton found himself on the wing as Jai Arrow shifted to centre.

Mitchell, returning from a hamstring injury for his first game since July last year, and playing centre for the first time since the Roosters 2019 grand final triumph, took on kicking duties and utility Jayden Sullivan tried to guide the Bunnies one-out.

Despite the bulging casualty ward, a Jye Gray try set up by Sullivan set up a grandstand finish called for the game’s most magnetic player. Mitchell responded with a triple cut-out ball that travelled the best part of 20 metres for Isaiah Tass to score in the corner.

Jamie Humphreys watches on from the sideline.Credit: Getty Images

“He had to do something, he was kind of social loafing out there,” Bennett quipped.

“He did (his job), being a superstar. It’s going to take him a while, he’s been out of football for a long time and there are guys four or five weeks in front of him.

“Each week he’ll get better now.”

For all their injury woes the Rabbitohs are now 4-1, while the Roosters find themselves with just one win to show for the first five weeks.

Halves Chad Townsend and Sandon Smith struggled to target Souths players defending out of position and sent multiple kicks out on the full.

Coach Trent Robinson refused to blame his playmakers, but conceded his side didn’t exploit the Rabbitohs disjointed defence enough.

The Roosters face Brisbane – who put 50 points on them in round one – with Lindsay Collins likely out for 4-6 weeks after he sustained a suspected MCL injury.

“I think this competition tells the truth,” Robinson said.

“The longer these combinations develop because when you start new combinations, it takes time to develop so you have to rely on your defence.

“Two tries and we win the game, three tries and it’s game on at the moment. So it’s hard to say one and four, you’re really disappointed in that but I can see this team, I can see who they are, I can see the intensity that they’re going after it.”

And that’s it. A gutsy, wild, weird win for South Sydney, who lost both their starting halves but did enough to stay in the contest before Latrell Mitchell produced a moment of magic.

It was a gutsy effort too from the Roosters, who defended their hearts out in the first half.

Rabbitohs 20, Roosters 14 at full-time

While Latrell Mitchell may have grabbed the headlines, Jye Gray is having another terrific game at fullback and produces another spectacular effort at the back to outjump James Tedesco to a tricky bomb.

It’s a nail-biter of a finish here after a topsy-turvy game. After a first half in which both teams struggled with the ball in hand, suddenly either team looks capable of scoring at any moment.

Now Chad Townsend puts up a booming bomb, and this time it’s Mitchell’s turn to outleap the opposition and bring it down safely. Now Souths earn a penalty for a strip in a two-man tackle by Siua Wong (the Roosters use, and lose, their captain’s challenge). The Bunnies should be able to hang onto this one.

Rabbitohs 20, Roosters 14 after 78 minutes

They’ve got no starting halves left but South Sydney do have Latrell Mitchell, and the returning star puts his team back in front with an absolute bullet of a pass – going past two Rabbitohs teammates, three Roosters and the outstretched hand of Dom Young and into the hands of Isaiah Tass, who scores in the left corner.

Mitchell has the conversion attempt now and he’s taken it back to the 30-metre line in a bid to improve his chances of slotting it from the toughest angle for a left-foot kicker. And he nails it.

Rabbitohs 20, Roosters 14 after 72 minutes

Bang! One penalty later, the Rabbitohs are on the attack and Jayden Sullivan splits what has been a mostly impenetrable Roosters defence. He turns a pass on the inside to Jye Gray in support, and the Rabbitohs have levelled this one up.

Rabbitohs 14, Roosters 14 after 65 minutes

Some worrying signs for the Roosters now, with Lindsay Collins leaving the field with a knee injury and Connor Watson placed on report for a dangerous tackle. But they still have all the momentum in the contest, with James Tedesco forcing a dropout with a sharp grubber kick.

The dropout itself is a bizarre one – Latrell Mitchell hits a left-footed kick that goes to his right but comes down about two metres away from the tryline, but then bounces towards the 10-metre line and is regained by South Sydney.

Roosters 14, Rabbitohs 8 after 63 minutes

The Roosters are in again and suddenly it’s hard to see them losing this one. James Tedesco has been excellent and he’s involved again, drifting right and linking up with Siua Wong who flicks a great offload to Dom Young who scores in the corner.

It’s a tough sideline conversion for Sandon Smith, and it shaves the right upright but goes wide.

Roosters 14, Rabbitohs 8 after 54 minutes

The injury news keeps going from bad to worse for South Sydney – Cody Walker is now out of the game with a hamstring injury, joining halves partner Jamie Humphreys who had the same issue in the opening minutes. Now winger Mikaele Ravalawa also appears to have a hammy problem.

Not only are they down on troops, but they’re dearly missing direction without their halves. And Latrell Mitchell is the only last-tackle kicking option, effectively taking the star centre out of action as a running option late in the set.

Roosters 10, Rabbitohs 8 after 49 minutes