Latrell Mitchell enhanced his claims for an Origin recall as he helped the Rabbitohs to a 22-12 win over the Broncos, on the night in which Alex Johnston moved into second place on the all-time Premiership try-scorers list.
Despite spending 10 minutes in the sin bin for escalating a second-half skirmish, Mitchell made all the right moves with ball in hand at Accor Stadium as he seeks to earn his first Blues jersey since 2021, scoring a try, setting another up and causing no end of issues for the opposing back three with his towering bombs.
It headlined South Sydney's best performance of the season, with their third win on the trot made all sweeter by Johnston's try in the 50th minute, the 191st of his career, which moves him past Billy Slater to trail only the legendary Ken Irvine (212 tries) on the all-time list.
The 29-year-old also became the outright owner of the record for most tries for a single club.
Latrell lights up early
Along with Mitchell's starring role, there was further good news from the game for New South Wales coach Michael Maguire, with Blues hopeful Cameron Murray cleared of any immediate head injury concerns after being hit off the ball in an incident which saw Jordan Riki sin-binned with 24 minutes to go.
Led by Keaon Koloamatangi's 202-metre haul and solid contributions from Tom Burgess and Murray – who was playing for the first time since Round 9 due to a hip flexor injury – the Rabbitohs tamed the much-vaunted Brisbane pack
A try saver from Gagai
For the Broncos, a third-straight loss leaves them in dangerous territory ahead of their upcoming bye, with the chance that they will slip out of the top eight by the end of Round 15.
Damien Cook's darting effort on 13 minutes typified the Rabbitohs' energy in the first half and in the eight minutes that followed they'd add further tries through Koloamatangi and Mitchell for a 18-0 half-time lead.
Damien Cook Try
Johnston's record-altering try 10 minutes into the second stanza extended the lead and ended the South Sydney scoring, but by that point they had more than enough on the scoreboard.
Broncos youngster Deine Mariner bagged a quickfire double inside the final 15 – and Kotoni Staggs converted twice from the sideline – to reduce the final deficit to two scores.
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Match Snapshot
- The Rabbitohs have scored 110 points in their past three games.
- It was just the second time in 2024 that South Sydney has held an opponent to under 26 points.
- Alex Johnston scored his 191st try in the win to go past Billy Slater and assume outright second place on the all-time Premiership try-scorers list.
- Latrell Mitchell racked up 175 metres on the night to go with a try, try assist and five tackle busts.
- Brisbane made 16 errors and completed at just 65 percent.
- Richard Kennar and Mitchell both spent 10 minutes in the sin bin for the Rabbitohs, as did Jordan Riki for the Broncos. Riki (early tackle) and Kennar (dangerous contact) were both cited for their incidents.
- Jai Arrow was taken from the match in the dying minutes after appearing to pick up a ribs injury.
Play of the Game
It's always a special moment when the record books have to be updated, with this try putting Alex Johnston within 21 tries of drawing even with Norths and Manly legend Ken Irvine's all-time leading mark of 212 four-pointers.
Alex Johnston Try
What They Said
"Our discipline has sort of left us the last three weeks now and we're paying a price for it on the scoreboard. We are playing some good footy in patches if we can hang onto it, and we also defend well too if we can get together, but it's just not happening for us at the moment. I'm frustrated, I can't imagine how the players are [feeling]." – Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
Broncos: Round 15
"Loved our start, loved our scramble when we were down to 12 men and we hang on in the end. A lot of big efforts from a lot of players in that second half; they [Brisbane] were coming and we just had to hold on. The boys are training hard, they're doing the right things and they are playing the right way. We've got good players, so hopefully it keeps happening." – Rabbitohs interim coach Ben Hornby.
Rabbitohs: Round 15
What's Next
The Broncos now go into their second bye of the year, with several players also expected to head away with their respective state sides. The Rabbitohs are home at Accor in Round 15 to play the Sea Eagles and it's yet to be known if they will be without talent due to Origin selections.