Souths run riot over lacklustre Warriors

A dominant team performance by South Sydney has seen them triumph over a flat NZ Warriors outfit this afternoon at NIB Stadium to chalk up their third straight victory.

Souths fresh off a 22-16 win over the Gold Coast last time out, wanted to keep their recent momentum going and they were further boosted before kick off with the inclusion of veteran back rower Ben Lowe. The good fortune continued for the Rabbitohs early on as Bryson Goodwin, who appeared to be held by Shaun Johnson in a tackle, was allowed to play on by referee Jarrod Maxwell, Goodwin didn't need any invitations as he slid past Simon Mannering and Tuimoala Lolohea to score next tot the posts. Maxwell was unable to send the decision upstairs as the Video Referee was unable to rule on such a call, the contentious call had Warriors players and fans alike up in arms. Isaac Luke added the relatively easy conversion to make it 6-0 after 9 minutes.

The rub of the green continued to favor Souths who seemed more committed to challenge for the 50/50 balls and were keen to get their hands dirty. A offside call against the Warriors provided Isaac Luke with the opportunity to send Souths further ahead which he did without issue and gave Souths a handy 8-0 lead after 21 minutes.

The Warriors has been attacking the Rabbitohs left hand edge for the opening 20 minutes and eventually it paid dividends. A ryan Hoffman offload was pounced on by fullback Lolohea who got on the outside of Walker and sent Manu Vatuvei crashing over for his 144th career try to take him past Johnny King on the all time try scoring list. Despite the missed conversion the Warriors were showing fight at 8-4.

The Warriors needed a good start in the second half, however they couldn't rid themselves of their constant errors and it was inevitable that Souths would again find their way to the line. They did just this in the 50th minute as Dylan Walker crossed for his first try of the afternoon. However the try didn't come without controversy as Walker appeared to run behind George Burgess which denied Solomon Kata to make a tackle on his opposite number. The try was awarded by referee Maxwell and Souths opened up a 28-4 advantage.

Walker was again involved as Souths scored their 5th try of the game on 62 minutes. He showed nifty footwork to evade some 4 warriors defenders, running from the right hand side back to the middle of the field before darting back and getting on the outside of Solomon Kata, his pass found Alex Johnston who showed great pace to score in the corner to keep his incredible try scoring record of 31 tries in 31 games in tact. Luke missed his first shot of the afternoon and the score remained 32-4.

Souths put the icing on the cake with 5 minutes left. After a bomb by Warriors half Shaun Johnson was not collected by anyone, it fell into the hands of Greg Inglis who broke away on a 80 metre run, Johnson managed to run GI down but it would all be in vein as two tackles later the ball was spread out to the right, where walker had a large area of space to slide over in the corner to collect his 2nd try of the day and his 6th try of the season. Luke missed the conversion and the score would stay 36-4 for the remainder of the game.

Souths dominated the Warriors in every facet of the game and are starting to come into form. The likes of Dylan Walker, Greg Inglis and Isaac Luke are rediscovering their 2014 form which does not bode well for other teams in the competition. Next week Souths travel to ANZ Stadium to tackle the Wests Tigers on Friday night football.

Meanwhile the Warriors will be forced to lick their wounds after putting in arguably their worst performance of 2015. After winning 3 games on the trot more was expected of their game with the reigning premiers, however they came up short courtesy of ill discipline in the ruck and also on the back of 15 errors. Andrew McFadden will no doubt be focusing on that in training in the coming week. The Warriors come up against the Sydney Roosters next week at home at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday night.

Match Details

South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 New Zealand Warriors 4
Venue: nib Stadium
Crowd: 20272
Halftime Score: South Sydney Rabbitohs 22 New Zealand Warriors 4

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS (36)
Tries: Bryson Goodwin, Chris Grevsmuhl, Tim Grant, Dylan Walker (2), Alex Johnston
Conversions: Issac Luke (4/6)
Penalty Goals: Issac Luke (2/2)

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS (4)
Tries: Manu Vatuvei
Conversions: Shaun Johnson (0/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Dylan Walker
2 points - Greg Inglis
1 point - Issac Luke

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Welcome to Souths Vs Warriors at a sunny NIB Stadium at Perth. This should be a cracking game with lots of points.
A few team changes. For Souths: Ben Lock goes to Lock and Jason Clark drops to the bench, youngster Nathan Brown drops out of the squad.
For the Warriors they have lost English International Sam Tomkins to that troublesome knee injury, Lolohea moves to fullback, Wright to the Centres and Ken Maumalo onto the wing. Friend again reverts to the bench and Havili starts at hooker.

About 5 mins away here, great crowd building up and very nice and sunny conditions.

Can the Warriors get their first win in Perth against Souths? Lots of Souths and Warriors fans out here in Perth.
South's will be looking to keep their momentum going after a close shave against the Titans last week.

Just like to correct an error folks, Nathan Brown is actually playing

Cameron McInnes is the man who drops out, meaning Luke will play 80 mins

Here We Go! Warriors with the first possession, Matulino with a strong carry first up

1: good opening set by the Warriors, Johnson bombs it in the air and Inglis brings it back and sends Solomon Kata into orbit! Great carry and strength

3: Another good set and kick by the Warriors, pinning Souths down inside their own 20 metre area.

3: Sutton thumps a kick downfield after 40 metres was gained from that set, solid opening from the reigning premiers as well.

5: Maumalo is taken into touch after some aggressive defence by Souths, great commitment. Meanwhile David Tyrell has been taking off after a head knock and is due for a concussion test, George Burgess comes on

9: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Bryson Goodwin. Kick to come.
Well Well Well, this will be a talking point. Goodwin gets the ball and is grounded after busting a few tackles. Johnson has hold of his ankle but Goodwin gets up, The warriors are standing still thinking that it was held and Goodwin strolls 10 metres to plant down!

9: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke successful.
All good, 6-0 to Souths.

11: What a set by Souths. Inglis gets on the outside of Wright and sends Aaron Gray away down the left flank, he fires inside to Goodwin who is grounded only 5 m out from the line. Two tackles later Sutton's bomb is diffused by maumalo thankfully for the Warriors fans

12: The Warriors make 80 metres but the bomb is spilled by Inglis but it has gone back and Johnson has cleaned up and South's survive! End to end stuff at the moment!

13: Souths on the attack but some hard hitting defence from Matulino forces an error out of George Burgess, strong stuff! This is a great game so far!

16: Souths look destined to score from Keary's grubber but it clean bowls all of them! Goes dead. 20 Metre restart for the Warriors.

17: Goal Line Drop Out for the Rabbitohs now! A big break by Townsend gives NZ field position and then two tackles later Johnson's kick is knocked dead by Inglis after Lolohea was closing in!

19: BOMBED!! A massive run by Matulino who powers past 4 defenders and offloads to a steaming Lillyman who has the ball knocked from his grasped whilst he was over the line!!

19: This is high quality rugby league here.

20: Souths on the attack but too much holding down in the play the ball, Souths opt for the two points.

21: SUCCESSFUL PENALTY GOAL SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Penalty goal attempt by Issac Luke successful.
Isaac Luke sends the penalty goal home and Souths extend their lead

24: Line Drop Out again for Souths, Johnson just does enough to knock the bomb dead.

26: TRY NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS
Scored by Manu Vatuvei. Kick to come.
THE BEAST!! 9 for the season but it's great play by the Kiwi's. Hoffman pops a ball out the back to Lolohea who fires to Vatuvei who races down the left flank to crash over out wide, that's deserved for the Warriors!

27: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS
Conversion attempt by Shaun Johnson unsuccessful.
Johnson is unsuccessful with the kick, hooking it to the left.

29: Pulsating game this, both sides throwing everything at each other, very physical stuff to, great to see.
Meanwhile Nathan Friend has coughed the ball up (Warriors 6th error) and gives Souths great field position only 25m out

32: They bomb Inglis again here the Warriors, he picks up the bouncing ball and is away! He is pulled down by Friend and co but it's a penalty, a little bit too eager from the play the ball from the Kiwi's there.

33: Another penalty to Souths as there is more ill discipline by the Warriors, Souths again opt to take the shot at goal from right in front 10m out.

33: SUCCESSFUL PENALTY GOAL SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Penalty goal attempt by Issac Luke successful.
No problems for Luke, 3/3 from him so far. 10-4 to the Rabbitohs

35: Mannering has gone off with Concussion and it doesn't look like he will return, that's a big blow to the warriors

36: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Chris Grevsmuhl. Kick to come.
Big break from walker, looks like he will score but slips, from the next play Grevsmuhl takes it from dummy half and barges his way over! 3rd try in 2 games from the back rower!

37: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke successful.
Luke curls this one around to extend the score to 16-4, Warriors in trouble!

39: Error by the warriors, Souths have 30 seconds to get some more points, 10m out

40: Hang on! We are going upstairs for a possible try to Tim Grant!

40: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Tim Grant. Kick to come.
What a try by Grant, shows great strength as he has three defenders on him, plants it on the line. That will hurt the Warriors.

40: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke successful.
From right in front, Luke steers home his 5th goal to make it 22-4 at the break

40: Souths have really turned the heat up on the Warriors, 14 points in the last ten minutes sees the Warriors on the ropes.
Warriors will feel a bit hard done by as a try was awarded to Bryson Goodwin on dubious terms. Since then though it has ben all Souths. The Warriors will be happy to have the break and will have it all to do in the second half!

40: Here comes the 2nd half, in some big news Simon Mannering is back and will play the rest of the game.

42: Another knock on by the warriors right on half way, tried to play a bit of razzle dazzle but it backfired on them. Souths in good field position now

45: Warriors throw the ball around like a hot potato on the last tackle, they also tap it back 4 times leading to a 10m loss, Johnson tries to get some magic down the right wing but his kick dribbles unto touch

48: Luke makes another half break and he has been a constant threat all day, really controlling the ruck

49: A bomb to the corner nearly pays dividends for Souths but Walker's tap back is deemed to have gone forward so Burgess's try attempt is ruled out

51: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Dylan Walker. Kick to come.
Good try to Dylan Walker, ball is kept alive after a flick by Keary, Burgess holds onto it, shapes to kick passes to Walker who runs behind Burgess that stops Kata from tackling him and then goes past Vatuvei to score, Warriors aren't happy!

52: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke successful.
From directly in front Luke kicks this one home, 28-4

53: Warriors just aren't on the same page as Souths, they look really flat and no one is putting their hand up to create something.

54: Warriors show some creativity on the last, the ball is thrown through the hands, Johnson hits Maumalo on the chest but Sutton and Inglis make a great tackle to ground him only 3m out from the try line

56: Error by Souths just as they were pressing on the Warriors line, a bit of relief for the warriors who have been under the pump for most of this 2nd half.

58: Time to go upstairs to the Video ref for Alex Johnston try

58: NO TRY! Deemed to be a knock on. Just bobbled it I fancy. Souths fans aren't happy here in Perth

60: Big line break from Aaron Gray after another failed kick by the Warriors, makes 40m, Souths on the attack now

62: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Alex Johnston. Kick to come.
31 in 31!! Great try from Souths. Walker gets the ball on the right and runs around in a circle for about 20 seconds, dinks left then right, back, forth, in and away eventually gets on the outside of Kata and sends it to Johnston who goes past the winger to plant down in the corner! Superb stuff from the Redfern boys!

62: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke unsuccessful.
Luke's first unsuccessful kick of the afternoon, shapes away to the left

65: FAR OUT! Walker goes to catch the ball and has his back exposed to Vatuvei who absolutely murders him!

66: A scramble on the last after a kick by Dave Tyrrell!? Johnson drops it twice behind him before he knocks it dead. More punishment for the Nzérs?

67: Another repeat set for Souths, kick is pinned down to young Maumalo who slaps it into touch. The pressure intensifies...

69: Forward pass by Luke to Tyrell, Warriors are off the hook for the time being... 10 mins left folks.

71: South's still showing great commitment in both defence and attack', they want more points and are working for each other, the Warriors on the other hand are playing for the siren and have made 14 errors so far...

72: Luke makes another forward pass! that's 3 for the arvo! Poor stuff that from the NZ international!

75: TRY SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Scored by Dylan Walker. Kick to come.
The last tackle kick by Johnson is fielded by no one, Inglis picks it up and races 90m downfield but Johnson chases him down! On the next play the ball comes out to walker who has too much time and space and slides over easily, the punishment continues. This is amazing play by Souths

76: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Conversion attempt by Issac Luke unsuccessful.
Misses this one too Luke, slides across the face of the goal

79: 15th error by the warriors as Hoffman is given a hospital pass by Townsend, dear oh dear

80: ISAAC LUKE!? What is going on! Another forward pass! That's 4! Lazy stuff there again

80: ISAAC LUKE!? What is going on! Another forward pass! That's 4! Lazy stuff there again

80: That's full time here folks, Souths have hammered a woeful warriors outfit 36-4. They have been better in every facet of the game. 6 tries to 1 in a brilliant performance. Their charge up the ladder continues.
The warriors were off their game badly and will want to put this behind them and quickly.