South Sydney Rabbitohs v Sydney Roosters: NRL preliminary final live!: * Email paul.connolly@theguardian with your thoughts * A few things to look out for this weekend 8.57pm AEST I need a break. That was rather busy. 8.56pm AEST 40 min: But there was an initial knock on from Burgess in that sequence so the Roosters get one last chance to score before the break and regain their lead. They work the ball to the right before Moa storms onto the ball from a few metres out. Ray Warren calls a try while hes in motion but Sam Burgess gets his body between the ball and the in-goal as the half-time siren sounds. What a try-saver, what a finish to the half! 8.53pm AEST No try! Prior to Pearce picking up the scraps Maloney was deemed to have knocked on accidentally. The margin of the knock on was about the same as Robert Luis last week. Is that irony, Alanis? 8.52pm AEST Possible try to Roosters! Souths hammer the Roosters in defence, forcing the Roosters back and back but in doing so their line is staggered and Pearce jets though the gaps. He finds Jennings who finds Tupou who slides over! 8.49pm AEST 37 min: Souths do well to hold their line, particularly from another surge from Pearce. They then work the ball out, kick long, and give Tuivasa-Sheck something to do. Moments later Luke and Teo upend Williams (will they ever learn?), give away a penalty and get themselves on report. 8.47pm AEST 35 min: Kenny-Dowall, out on the right wing, stands at dummy half but surprises Souths by running the blind. Hes tackled by a defender who was clearly offside and not caring one little bit. 8.45pm AEST 33 min: The Roosters kick the ball deep but play is called back when the video ref spots the tiniest knock-on from Moa in the lead up. The falling rain cant have helped him, or his discombobulation from a heavy hit. Souths on the attack again! 8.42pm AEST Another one from the sideline, this time the left. The young man has brought his kicking boots today. 8.41pm AEST The Roosters are caught on the short side as the Rabbitohs run the numbers game. Keary makes the final offload and Johnston tip-toes inside the sideline and touches down. 8.39pm AEST 30 min: Its all Souths now as they hit the Roosters in waves. How this game has turned. 8.38pm AEST 28 min: Reynolds has Guerra by the drawstrings and he pulls the darned thing so hard hes surely threaded it. Guerra will have to get a safety pin to get that baby back in. 8.36pm AEST 26 min: Both teams enjoy a few defensive sets without error before Souths oblige the Roosters with a cheap penalty. But the Roosters blow the possession, spilling the pill and Tuqiri charges forward like a man whos found the elixir of youth. 8.33pm AEST 23 min: Souths are running with renewed purpose now and the Roosters give away another penalty. And seconds after the whistle Waerea-Hargreaves nudges Teo with a needless shoulder charge. Fairly gentle as far as these things go but hes on report. 8.31pm AEST And Reynolds lands it from the right sideline. Game on! 8.30pm AEST ... and he does remarkably well to touch down as hes forced over the sideline. Not bad for the oldest man on the field. 8.28pm AEST 20 min: Almost like Atlas, George Burgess carries what seems like the entire Roosters team on his back. A miracle try looks to be in the offing but hes brought down. In the same set, however, Souths swing the ball right after working the left side. Reynolds shapes to kick but it goes through the hands to Tuquiri in a sliver of space... 8.25pm AEST 19 min: Inglis makes a half break on tackle three and a quick play the ball catches the Roosters napping. Pearce holds Walker down to buy time and a penalty is conceded. Souths with a fresh set 10m out. 8.23pm AEST 17 min: Maloney is scuppered by Reynolds on the halfway line and the ball comes loose offering Souths another possession in good field position. Souths are back. Shame about the 12-point start theyve given Easts. 8.22pm AEST 16 min: George Burgess spins and comes to rest achingly close to the Roosters line! Friend, it was stopping him, a man half his size. Reynolds then attempts a grubber in behind but its cleaned up and Teo gives away a needless penalty to allow the Roosters an easy escape from their own line. Good to have him back, Souths fans? 8.19pm AEST 15 min: Souths first foray into Rooster territory? I think so. And heres another penalty for a stray hand. The Roosters are inviting a comeback here. 8.18pm AEST 14 min: Souths breathe a sigh of relief when Waerea-Hargreaves spills the ball a few metres out. On replay, it was George Burgesss knee knocking it free. But it Souths ball from the scrum. And now a relieving penalty that gets them to halfway. 8.17pm AEST 12 min: More pressure for Souths as they knock on 10m out after a bomb. Has the week off hindered the Rabbits? So far youd have to say yes. Resoundingly so. 8.16pm AEST 10 min: The Roosters roll a long way downfield but a relieved Souths rattling like a lotharios bedhead keep their line intact. 8.13pm AEST Another easy one from just to the left of the posts. 8.13pm AEST So many looks by the video ref but everyones initial impression is proved correct. What a start by the Roosters! 8.11pm AEST Possible try! Another one, yes. Moments after Souths kick off Maloney launches a bomb on the halfway line. Minichiello leaps to steal the ball from Inglis waiting arms and he scores! Or does he? The video ref is checking for offside... 8.09pm AEST A routine kick for the Roosters No. 6 8.08pm AEST 4 min: Pearce receives the ball on Souths quarter and steps straight through Tyrell and Turner. He then throws in another big step to beat Inglis to make it look easy. 8.06pm AEST Out of nothing... 8.05pm AEST 3 min: Its as willing as we expected the opening moments to be, while expansive football is still on ice for the time being. Reynolds bombs to Tuivasa-Shecks wing now but its Greg Inglis climbing high to claim it. 8.02pm AEST 1 min: No mistakes from the Roosters who barge their way to the half before kicking to Johnstons wing. A couple of tackles later George Burgess is crunched by Williams. You must have heard it. 8.00pm AEST Souths launch it long and high... 7.59pm AEST And here they come! First the Roosters, led out by Minichiello. Now Souths, led by John Sutton. Russells here! says Ray Warren, as we see Russell Crowe up in the stands wearing what looks like a cut-off lab coat. I didnt spot his young son who gave him a bit of lip last time they went to the footy together. 7.55pm AEST Were not too far away now. A few late questions. How many Roosters supporters will make the long trip (emotionally speaking) from Bondi to Homebush? More than the 18,000 who turned up at home last week? And how many Greg Inglises will take the field? Souths could throw the Roosters a curly one with these: Get in early and grab a @greg_inglis face mask to celebrate his 200th game!! #gorabbitohs pic.twitter/r87EDDKmWV 7.50pm AEST Now its a freshly-laundered Sam Burgess being interviewed by Brad Fittler. Burgess is speaking highly of his time in Australia. Was Russell Crowe upset when he told him he was leaving Souths? Did he get Gladitorial on Burgess arse? Nah, hes smarter than that. 7.46pm AEST The Ch.9 coverage has begun so lets ride their coat-tails and hear something from Trent Robinson first off: The boys know what we need to do tonight. Theres nothing new, theres no tricks, weve just got to outwork them and execute under pressure, he says. 7.36pm AEST Tonights teams. Rabbitohs: Greg Inglis, Alex Johnston, Dylan Walker, Kirisome Auvaa, Lote Tuqiri, Luke Keary, Adam Reynolds, George Burgess, Issac Luke, Dave Tyrrell, Kyle Turner, John Sutton (c), Sam Burgess. Interchange: Jason Clark, Ben Teo, Chris McQueen, Thomas Burgess. 7.30pm AEST The Roosters, meantime, are looking to become the first team since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 & 1993 to win back-to-back titles. They swept all before them in 2013 under Trent Robinson and if they havent been quite as emphatic this season they still finished minor premiers, beating Souths in the final game of the regular season to do so. Over the past fortnight the leagues real silvertails have been put through the wringer but theyve come through all the same, and if tonight they can put together an 80 minutes like the pulverising first 40 they put together against the Cowboys last week then theyll be hard to beat tonight. So. Souths will be rested from their week off, the Roosters will feel hardened by their tough finals campaign, and its anyones to win. 7.27pm AEST Tonights match marks Souths third consecutive preliminary final. Beaten by Canterbury in 2012 and Manly in 2013 Souths will be desperate to make the decider this time around and give themselves a chance to win the clubs first premiership since 1971, back when Australia was in black and white and newsreaders spoke like constipated Englishmen. 7.21pm AEST The Book of Love may be long and boring but the Book of Feuds? Its a bloody page-turner and tonight, when the NRLs oldest rivals, Souths and Easts*, get it on at ANZ (the stadium, that is, not the banks Homebush branch; the latters not big enough, for one, and the manager, Janice, is more of an AFL type anyway so has no truck with the greatest game of all), a new chapter will be revealed. Given a grand final berth is on the line we should expect something akin to Tolstoys War and Peace. Minus the peace, of course. And the Russians. And the French. But then you get the picture. Being a more circumspect type Im loath to get swept up in the hype but this is unquestionably the biggest game in the history of sport. If I could liken it to anything it would be a battle between Godzilla and, say, King Kong. Set to a Metallica soundtrack. Something a little like this, in fact: 7.15pm AEST Paul will be here shortly. In the meantime, here is Matt Cleary with a few thoughts on tonights games: In games this big, journo types will often build them further up with Clashes That Will Decide The Fixture. And often its halfbacks versus halfbacks, fullback versus fullbacks, and other players that rarely actually come into physical contact with another. But theres one clash that will happen. And when it happens there will be pain. And thunder. And great vengeance and furious anger. And that will be the monster mash of Sam Burgess and Dylan Napa. Dear Lord Rocket Reddy but this pair of full-bodied bash men will fairly sprint at one another. Fair dinkum sprint. And when they get there, when they meet, hoo-ee, it will shake the very earth. Car accident stuff. Heavy bodies. Total impact. The best kind. Boom. And in a final in which youre highly unlikely to be sent off and being put on report is a risk-worth-taking, well. Look freakin out. Continue reading... #Guardian
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:00:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015