Wests Tigers NYC went down 26-24 to South Sydney in the Round 10 clash at ANZ Stadium.
Wests Tigers got off to a blistering start when live wire halfback Mitchell Moses kicked a forty-twenty in the opening set. Leva Li spilled the ball in the ensuing set.
South Sydney went agonisingly close to opening the scoring in the 9th minute, prop Daniel Smith dropping the ball over the line as he attempted to stretch out.
South Sydney did open the scoring minutes later when hooker Cameron McInnes scrambled over from dummy half after a period of pressure on the Wests Tigers' line.
Will Paterson converted to give the Rabbitohs a 6-0 lead after 13 minutes.
Rabbitohs fullback Alex Johnston sliced through the middle in the 16th minute, setting up halfback Christian Hazard to touch down under the posts. Paterson's conversion put South Sydney 12-0 up.
Wests Tigers opened their account in the 29th minute when Luke Williams pounced on Moses' deft grubber into the in-goal.
Fullback Kurtis Rowe had earlier done brilliantly to bring the ball out of his own in-goal under heavy pressure. After linking with Moses, Wests Tigers began their set inside the Souths half.
Manaia Rudolph converted from under the posts making the score 12-6 to South Sydney.
Wests Tigers winger Delouise Hoeter lit up the touch line with three minutes remaining in the first half. Manaia Rudolph loomed in support to pass the fullback, but the centre was rounded up by the South Sydney chasers.
With the last play of the half, Rabbitohs centre Aaron Gray picked out an injured Mitchell Moses to power his way over for a strong try.
Paterson missed his conversion leaving the score 16-6 at halftime.
South Sydney opened the second half in the same fashion as the first, when halfback Christian Hazard backed up a break to touch down.
Paterson converted to make the score 22-6 with seven minutes gone in the second half.
South Sydney extended their lead in the 58th minute when Aaron Gray touched down in the corner after a chip kick.
Paterson missed the sideline conversion, leaving the score 26-6 to South Sydney.
Just when the game seemed to be over for Wests Tigers, forward Shane Lalogafau barged over from close range for his side's second try. Rudolph converted to give Todd Payten's men a glimmer of hope.
Wests Tigers forward Dallas Graham reached out to score just minutes later with South Sydney on the back foot. Rudolph's conversion made it 26-18 and it was game on.
With just ten minutes left on the clock, the come-back was well and truly on when Manaia Cherrington stepped his way over from dummy half to score under the posts for Wests Tigers.
Rudolph converted his fourth of the night and Wests Tigers trailed by just two, 26-24.
Wests Tigers continued to fight strongly, but just couldn't crack a South Sydney team who dug in strongly and refused to give up.
Wests Tigers got off to a blistering start when live wire halfback Mitchell Moses kicked a forty-twenty in the opening set. Leva Li spilled the ball in the ensuing set.
South Sydney went agonisingly close to opening the scoring in the 9th minute, prop Daniel Smith dropping the ball over the line as he attempted to stretch out.
South Sydney did open the scoring minutes later when hooker Cameron McInnes scrambled over from dummy half after a period of pressure on the Wests Tigers' line.
Will Paterson converted to give the Rabbitohs a 6-0 lead after 13 minutes.
Rabbitohs fullback Alex Johnston sliced through the middle in the 16th minute, setting up halfback Christian Hazard to touch down under the posts. Paterson's conversion put South Sydney 12-0 up.
Wests Tigers opened their account in the 29th minute when Luke Williams pounced on Moses' deft grubber into the in-goal.
Fullback Kurtis Rowe had earlier done brilliantly to bring the ball out of his own in-goal under heavy pressure. After linking with Moses, Wests Tigers began their set inside the Souths half.
Manaia Rudolph converted from under the posts making the score 12-6 to South Sydney.
Wests Tigers winger Delouise Hoeter lit up the touch line with three minutes remaining in the first half. Manaia Rudolph loomed in support to pass the fullback, but the centre was rounded up by the South Sydney chasers.
With the last play of the half, Rabbitohs centre Aaron Gray picked out an injured Mitchell Moses to power his way over for a strong try.
Paterson missed his conversion leaving the score 16-6 at halftime.
South Sydney opened the second half in the same fashion as the first, when halfback Christian Hazard backed up a break to touch down.
Paterson converted to make the score 22-6 with seven minutes gone in the second half.
South Sydney extended their lead in the 58th minute when Aaron Gray touched down in the corner after a chip kick.
Paterson missed the sideline conversion, leaving the score 26-6 to South Sydney.
Just when the game seemed to be over for Wests Tigers, forward Shane Lalogafau barged over from close range for his side's second try. Rudolph converted to give Todd Payten's men a glimmer of hope.
Wests Tigers forward Dallas Graham reached out to score just minutes later with South Sydney on the back foot. Rudolph's conversion made it 26-18 and it was game on.
With just ten minutes left on the clock, the come-back was well and truly on when Manaia Cherrington stepped his way over from dummy half to score under the posts for Wests Tigers.
Rudolph converted his fourth of the night and Wests Tigers trailed by just two, 26-24.
Wests Tigers continued to fight strongly, but just couldn't crack a South Sydney team who dug in strongly and refused to give up.
