Another chapter was written into the Rabbitohs and Roosters book of feuds on Monday night with a miraculous come-from-behind win which saw the Rabbitohs mirror the efforts of the Roosters when the two teams met in the opening round of 2012.
Tonight on NRL Daily we put both matches under microscope and find some striking resemblances.
The Rabbitohs and Roosters were slightly different teams back in Round 1 of the Telstra Premiership. Greg Inglis was yet to make the shift to fullback, Braith Anasta didn’t play in the match due to a back problem and only the keenest of Toyota NRL Dream Teamers had heard of the likes of Tautau Moga and Andrew Everingham.
In Round 1 the Roosters were favourites and they scored early through Lama Tasi, while in Round 19 the Rabbitohs were favourites and were first to cross the linethrough the great finishing of Nathan Merritt.
In both matches the away team then hit back on the scoreboard with a try to a back-rower. Michael Croker crossed for Souths in Round 1 and in Round 19 Boyd Cordner responded for the Roosters.
As the matches closed in on half-time both team missed a scoring opportunity. In Round 1 the Rabbitohs' Matt King missed a try scoring opportunity before break, while in Round 19 the Roosters missed one with BJ Leilua being denied the four points.
In Round 1 the Rabbitohs led 20-12 with 3 minutes remaining. Then the magic happened and Jared Warea-Hargraves stormed over to put the Roosters within reach and Anthony Minichiello finished off an amazing comeback with a try under the posts on the buzzer.
In Round 19 the Roosters led 22-12 with 2 minutes remaining before Nathan Merrit crossed after a great show of team passing and skill. Boom rookie Adam Reynolds then sealed the victory and the sweet smell of revenge was in the air.
Coincidence maybe, but one thing is for sure, both matches will go down in history as two of the closest and most exciting finishes ever. What a rivalry!
Also on tonight’s show we discuss the pending judiciary decisions on Issac Luke and Sam Kasiano and host John Gibbs hands out his famous Golden Gibber award for Round 20.
Get all this and more in tonight's episode of NRL Daily, the only NRL show that's on every night of the week.
Stream it on the NRL.com homepage from 7:00pm tonight, watch it on the official NRL mobile site (Telstra customers only. Action Pack required. Click here for more details) or Telstra T-BOX. You can also watch the best NRL Daily videos on your iPhone with the official NRL iPhone App (Official Pass required. Click here for more details)
