The Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs faced off on Saturday night in arguably the most anticipated match of the NRL’s Magic Round.
Fresh from a week off, the Storm were hoping to jump the Bunnies on the ladder but ultimately failed to fire at Suncorp Stadium.
The Rabbitohs, on the other hand, were practically unstoppable, playing with the flair and confidence of a serious premiership-contending side.
After a mixed few weeks to open the season, the Bunnies have seriously started to hit their straps.
They entered this clash on a four-match win streak and as genuine premiership threats and exited as even more serious premiership contenders.
Jason Demetriou’s side picked up from where they left off after their crushing defeat of the Broncos last round, showcasing their attacking potency and defensive stability.
Latrell Mitchell delivered a special kick in behind for Cody Walker to open the scoring, and they never looked back from there.
The win also creates some separation between the Bunnies and the Storm on the ladder, with the pair tied on points prior to the clash.
They came into this match as slight underdogs, but Melbourne’s record against the Rabbitohs was a source of confidence for Craig Bellamy’s men.
The Storm had won 32 of their previous 38 NRL games against the Bunnies, with their 84% win rate against them the highest of any team against a single opponent.
That win rate has now been reduced, and there was no sign of their historical dominance in this particular affair.
Whilst they created plenty of pressure, they were regularly let down by errors, which is sure to rub their coach the wrong way.
Their coach highlighted the inconsistency of his side post-match.
“[We lost the match because we were] being inconsistent like we have been all year,” Bellamy said.
