The Rabbitohs thrashed the Raiders 47-18 at Canberra Stadium in Round 23 last year.
In a stunning display of attack the Rabbitohs piled on eight tries – including a hat-trick to fullback Nathan Merritt between the 50th and 72nd minutes, plus a double to centre Greg Inglis.
Souths had the game in the bag when they raced to a 24-nil lead in even time before Raiders winger Blake Ferguson crossed to send the sides to the halftime sheds with a 24-6 scoreline.
Merritt opened the scoring in the second half, crossing for two of his three tries before Josh Dugan and Reece Robinson added to the Canberra tally. Merritt’s final try was followed by a Chris McQueen four-pointer inside the final 10 minutes that rounded out the scoring.
Defence took a back seat on a sunny afternoon in the nations’ capital, with both sides missing 44 tackles. Souths made the most of their time with the ball, completing their sets at a healthy 84 per cent compared to the Raiders’ 72 per cent. Incredibly, Canberra made nine line-breaks to their opponents’ six but couldn’t transform that advantage into points.
Prop Ben Ross had one of his best games of the year for Souths, pounding out 156 metres with a line-break.
Raiders lock Shaun Fensom was tireless in a beaten side, making 16 hit-ups and 51 tackles.
