The last time the Rabbitohs and Broncos met in Perth, the Rabbitohs kept their heads above water to register a gutsy 16-12 win in Perth in Round 16 last year in a game where torrential rain turned the nib Stadium surface into a giant kiddies’ wading pool in places.
The game featured a bizarre try to Rhys Wesser who followed through on a projectile-like kick from Chris Sandow into the Broncos in-goal from close range – the ball appeared to have far too much weight on it to be effective yet it found its mark – a huge puddle – and stopped abruptly. Wesser’s dive brought humour, some shaking heads and four vital points to the bunnies’ cause. The try rocketed Souths to a 12-nil lead after just 12 minutes, before the Broncos got on the scoreboard when Jack Reed latched onto a Darren Lockyer cross-field bomb to score two minutes later. A Kurt Baptiste try from dummy-half late in the second stanza was the only other scoring play.
Not surprisingly given the conditions each side managed just one line-break apiece. Souths were best served by their big men Dave Taylor, Ben Ross and Eddy Pettybourne who all made triple figure in metres gained, while Sandow provided the finishing touches on both their tries. Fullback Josh Hoffman was among the Broncos’ best, adding 167 metres and eight tackle busts.
