Matty Johns believes that South Sydney can “come from nowhere” to win the NRL premiership this season, but only if they address a potentially decisive part of their game.
South Sydney can move up to fifth on the ladder if they beat Parramatta in a crunch clash at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Both teams will be looking to keep their top four hopes alive with a win in the blockbuster, while the loser could risk dropping down the ladder.
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The Rabbitohs began their impressive run of form against Parramatta early last month, recording the first of four consecutive wins.
After wins over the struggling Newcastle Knights and Bulldogs, Souths made a statement with a 12-point win over the Melbourne Storm.
While they lost in golden point the week after against the Sharks, they bounced back with an emphatic win over the Warriors on the Sunshine Coast.
But not everyone is sold on their recent successes, with Matty Johns comparing the team to a “nice Sunday drive.”
“South Sydney, their recent performances remind me of someone taking a nice Sunday drive, and I mean that both in praise and criticism,” Johns said on SEN’s Morning Glory.
“Watching South Sydney, and I think it’s a bad practice, it’s something they’ve got to be really careful of, they’re lifting the intensity only when they think they need to.
“That’s a concern because intensity and focus and poise under pressure is not something you just reach for out of the kit bag and say ‘alright we’re gonna do it now’.
“Last week I was expecting a real statement game against the Warriors, and they delivered in the first-half. Their intent and their blueprint (on) how they played their best football was the evidence.
Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell has been in some sensational form for the Rabbitohs since returning from injury. (Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“But the second-half there was just no intensity in the contest… and I’m probably knit-picking a little bit because I do like to see coaches showing a range of emotions, but in that second-half when they were really wiping the floor with the Warriors, whenever they cut up to the coaches box the whole coaching staff were really pissing themselves laughing.
“That’s almost a little bit symbolic of where Souths are. It’s got to start tonight, they’ve got to start to lift and they’ve got to start to play with finals intensity football.”
Latrell Mitchell has been in sensational form for the Rabbitohs, after returning from an almost three month absence against the Eels.
Mitchell has had nine try assists since returning just over one month ago, as well as 33 tackle breaks and four tries.
While the Rabbitohs have largely reaped the rewards since he returned, although Johns issued the team with a warning.
“Latrell plays his best football when he’s relaxed. He’s come back from the States really relaxed, and his touch from him, the way he’s playing is just superb, but it does n’t mean that the rest of the side play their best relaxed, ”he added.
“At the moment there’s a reliance on ‘Trell will get it done’. When you’ve got players like Latrell Mitchell in your football side, they are the icing on the cake. They’re the one who can actually get it done for you.
“But you can’t rely on them. Even with Andrew Johns in our side, our forwards were tearing heads off, hitting the line that hard… If suddenly we went out there and say ‘Joey will get us home’, it just doesn’t happen.”
Storm sizzle poor Panthers | 02:01
Despite a tough run home, in which they play the Eels, Panthers, Cowboys and Roosters, Johns believes they can go all the way.
“The way they’re playing, that relaxed style, and the fact they’re playing within themselves and winning, well done to you boys. But they’re in a position, in my opinion, they can win this competition.
“They can come from nowhere and win this competition but they will not win it with the way they’re playing at the moment.
“It’s nothing about talent or anything like that, they’ve just got to develop, in the next few weeks, a really hard edge, and tonight’s a perfect opportunity.”
The NRL Match Review Committee has come under fire for some glaring inconsistencies regarding foul play in a confounding weekend of rugby league in Round 20.
Storm enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona escaped sanction for an elbow to the face of Warriors hooker Wayde Egan, while teammate Josh King went unpunished for a potential eye-gouge.
Meanwhile, Titans hooker Aaron Booth escaped sanction for a cannonball tackle on Raiders forward Joe Tapine, while Jared Waerea-Hargreaves got away with a fine for a similar action to Asofa-Solomona’s, on Manly rookie Zac Fulton.
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And Broncos lock Patrick Carrigan was neither sin-binned or sent off for a hip drop tackle that saw him referred directly to the Judiciary and has him facing a lengthy ban.
Foxsports.com.au breaks down the five incidents to point out the stunning inconsistency from the MRC.
NELSON ASOFA-SOLOMONA
Asofa-Solomona was placed on report for an elbow/forearm on Warriors hooker Wayde Egan, but was not charged by the match review committee.
The incident in the fourth minute of the Storm’s win over the Warriors saw the Asofa-Solomona come down hard on top of Egan’s jaw with his forearm and elbow.
The Warriors rake had to leave the field and there were fears such an action had the potential to result in a broken jaw.
Andrew Johns smoked at the MRC for failing to take action against Asofa-Solomona for an incident that he believed could have resulted in an on-field send-off.
“It’s laughable,” Johns said.
“I back the players all the time, but for me that’s a four-week suspension.
“Nothing for that, or even fine? That’s close to a send-off. I can’t believe it.”
Ryan Girdler accused the MRC of not taking the rules seriously in a stinging rebuke of the Asofa-Solomona decision.
“It was very avoidable as opposed to running the football rather than when you are the defender,” Girdler said on Triple M.
“We spoke about Dale Finucane and the onus needs to be on the defender and there needs to be a duty of care to the player with the ball, especially now we see so many people in tackles and technique and holding and so forth.
“That needs to be taken seriously by the players.
“But if you want to take it seriously then the match review committee need to take it seriously as well.
“Letting Nelson get off with that sends a sign out there to the players, that sort of behavior is OK and it’s not.”
It begs the question, would the Storm star, who has formed, have been suspended or even sent off had he broken Egan’s jaw?
Any player that now finds himself in a similar tackle will be bringing up this Asofa-Solomona incident as their main defense in the future and a dangerous precedent has now been set.
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Nelson Asofa-Soloma escaped sanction for an elbow on Wayde Egan.Source: Supplied
JOSH KING
Storm lock Josh King escaped sanction for a potential eye-gouge on Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga, despite being placed on report and penalized.
In fairness to King the action may have been accidental, but it came just a week after Bulldogs enforcer Corey Waddell copped a five week suspension for coming into contact with the eyes of Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
In Waddell’s case there was no genuine proof of a gouging action, but he copped a monster ban for coming into contact with the eyes of an opponent.
Gorden Tallis and Greg Alexander believed that King would be in trouble, given the harsh reaction to the Waddell incident, even if it was incidental contact.
“I think it is minimal contact, but you can’t make contact with the eyes,” Tallis said.
“I don’t like it. Don’t go near the eyes.”
“Corey Waddell got five weeks for not even gouging someone,” Alexander added.
“In slow motion it doesn’t look good. His hand went over the top of the face and got somewhere in the eye vicinity so he could be in trouble.
King could have been given the opportunity to protest his innocence at the judiciary and may well have proven it, but the decision not to charge him a week after giving Waddell five weeks on the sidelines smacks of inconsistency.
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King eye gouge raises questions! | 00:41
AARON BOOTH
Titans hooker Aaron Booth went unpunished by the MRC for a potential cannonball tackle on Raiders forward Joe Tapine.
The incident in the 32nd minute of the Titans 36-24 loss to the Raiders saw two Gold Coast players tackling Tapine before Booth came in late down around his legs from behind in a cannonball style tackle.
Tapine took issue with the tackle and the pair got into a scuffle, which resulted in the Raiders star being sent to the sin bin.
On his way to the sin bin Tapine questioned the tackle to the referee but Ben Cummins said the tackle was cleared.
The cannonball tackle is up there with the hip drop as one of the most dangerous tackles on a rugby league field for its ability to cause serious injury.
“Joe Tapine must have felt what he thought was a cannonball as Aaron Booth comes in right at the knees,” Matt Russell said.
Aaron Booth tackles Joe Tapine.Source: FOX SPORTS
“You have got to be above the knees. Quads or higher.”
While Booth may have initially hit Tapine on the hamstrings, the speed and force at which he came into the tackle from behind as the third man in, had the potential to cause Tapine a serious injury, which is why he was so angry.
Gorden Tallis told Triple M that he didn’t think Patrick Carrigan’s tackle “was as bad as some that I’ve seen this year” and brought up the Booth incident.
“So Aaron Booth, I have spears into the back (of Joe Tapine). Which one is worse in your eyes?,” he asked.
“I can’t believe he didn’t get reported,” Ben Dobbin said.
“It wasn’t even a penalty,” James Hooper added.
“Probably the one from the Titans game, it seemed to have more intent in the tackle,” James Graham added.
If the MRC are serious about stamping it out of the game, Booth should have at least been charged and given the opportunity to defend himself at the judiciary.
Failing to charge these incidents gives the players no deterrent to stop employing the cannonball tackle if they think they can get away with it on a technicality.
Tapine binned for punching Titan | 00:23
PATRICK CARRIGAN
Broncos lock Patrick Carrigan is facing a lengthy suspension for his hip-drop tackle on Jackson Hastings after being referred directly to the judiciary.
Carrigan deserves to be suspended for the ugly tackle that broke Hastings’ leg and ruled him out for the season.
However, if the incident was deemed serious enough to refer Carrigan straight to the judiciary, why was he not sin-binned or sent off?
Nathan Cleary coped with a five week suspension after being sent off for an ugly lifting tackle on Dylan Brown.
If Carrigan is looking at a similar ban, the Tigers should have got the on-field advantage of having the Broncos reduced to 12 men for 10 minutes at least.
James Hooper believes Carrigan will miss the remainder of the regular season with a five week ban.
Patrick Carrigan’s hip-drop tackle.Source: Supplied
“In all likelihood the fact he’s been referred… I think Pat Carrigan is rubbed out for the rest of the season and he’s back for September,” Hooper said.
If Carrigan cops a five game ban, it is confounding how he wasn’t sent off for the tackle or at the very least sin-binned.
On the other hand Gorden Tallis questioned why Carrigan is potentially meeting the same fate as Waddell who is out for five weeks due to an eye-gouge.
“If you tell me that tackle is as bad as an eye gouge… if someone has their fingers around your eyes I’d bite their fingers off,” Tallis said.
It raised the question of Hastings’ injury playing a part in the punishment, which comes back to Asofa-Solomona potentially facing a ban had he broken Egan’s jaw.
Carrigan’s hip drop injuries Hastings | 01:01
JARED WAEREA-HAGREAVES
The Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves escaped with a fine for an early guilty plea after being charged by the match review committee for a similar incident to Asofa-Solomona’s.
The Roosters star was penalized and placed on report for an elbow to the face of Manly rookie Zac Fulton while he was on the ground.
Waerea-Hargreaves’ punishment brings up two questions. Why was he not banned because a small fine is not a deterrent for these actions?
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves escaped with a fine.Source: Getty Images
And given Asofa-Solomona’s incident is widely considered to be much worse than the Roosters star’s actions, why wasn’t the Storm forward charged by the MRC?
Referee Grant Atkins labeled Waerea-Hargreaves actions unacceptable.
“Jared can’t do what he did, that is unacceptable, that is why it is against you,” Atkins said.
But how can an unacceptable action on a rugby league field receive only a small $3000 fine.
Coupled with the Asofa-Soloma incident, a small fine for Waerea-Hargreaves and no punishment at all for the Storm forward offers no deterrent whatsoever for players who employ these grubby tactics.
Rugby league legend Andrew Johns has called for the NRL to eradicate dangerous tackles, such as cannonball and hip drop tackles, after two separate incidents sparked heated debate over the weekend.
Canberra Raiders prop Joe Tapine was sin-binned for an alleged punch during Saturday afternoon’s 36-24 victory over the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.
The 28-year-old was seemingly retaliating after a “cannonball” tackle from Titans hooker Aaron Booth, who had come in around the legs.
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“Joe Tapine must have felt like what he thought was a cannonball (tackle) as Aaron Booth comes in right at the knees,” Fox League commentator Matt Russell said at the time.
“You’ve got to be above the knees — quads or higher.”
Johns also sympathized with Tapine, pleading for the NRL to stamp out crusher tackles and similar offenses.
“When there’s a two-man tackle and there’s no momentum, we have to eradicate the third person coming in,” he told Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show.
“I can’t blame him for reacting like this.
“If there’s two men in the tackle and they can’t get the player down, then one has to change his technique and go down.
“That third man should not be allowed to come in. It’s dangerous.
“They’re worried about the third man destroying their knees and ankles.”
Later on Saturday, Wests Tigers lock Jackson Hastings was left limping from the field after Brisbane Broncos rival Pat Carrigan performed a hip drop tackle at Suncorp Stadium.
Carrigan, who put his body weight on Hastings’ back ankle, was referred directly to the NRL judiciary after the ugly incident, which left him with a broken fibula.
“I thought the tackle was a pretty ordinary tackle,” Tigers interim coach Brett Kimmorley told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“It is something that has crept into the game a little bit and it needs to be looked after, because it’s a horrendous tackle and the outcome can be really bad.”
However, former Broncos captain Gorden Tallis believed the incident was an accident.
“I didn’t think that tackle was as bad as some I have seen this year,” he told Triple M.
“Are they referring it to the judiciary because they don’t know what to do any more? If Patrick Carrigan does that to me and I am out for the year I am going to be disappointed but I think it’s an accident.
“I didn’t think that tackle was as bad as some I have seen this year. Are they referring it to the judiciary because they don’t know what to do any more? If Patrick Carrigan does that to me and I am out for the year I am going to be disappointed but I think it’s an accident.
“I don’t think it is a fashionable hip drops where you jam your hips and I thought watching it he would have been unlucky to get a week or two.”
Speaking after the 32-18 defeat, Carrigan reiterated that he did not intend to harm Hastings.
“I hope he is alright,” he said.
“It wasn’t intentional. I felt like I hit him a bit higher. I don’t know if I winded him, but I heard him wince and then he fell backwards.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want to see anyone get injured, so I hope he’s alright. It is what it is.”
Broncos coach Kevin Walters said: “I don’t know if he snapped his ankle, but it was a heat of the battle thing. Knowing Pat Carrigan and a person of his character, I wouldn’t think it was intentional.”
