It started with a war of words but in the end South Sydney had the final say after outlasting Brisbane 22-20 in Friday night’s NRL grudge match at Suncorp Stadium.
The Rabbitohs moved back into the top four after snapping a three-match losing streak while also landing a telling blow to the Broncos’ finals hopes in a round 23 clash that lived up to the hype.
The stage was set for a blockbuster after an extraordinary lead-up in which Rabbitohs assistant Jason Demetriou and Broncos coach Anthony Seibold traded barbs.
Yet somehow the clash still exceeded expectations.
The Rabbitohs appeared on the ropes when not once but twice they had a player sin-binned.
Former Bronco James Roberts was booed off the ground when the South Sydney centre got his marching orders in the 14th minute for elbowing Corey Oates in the head after the Brisbane flyer tried to touch down in the corner.
And the visitors were again on the back foot in the 49th minute when another ex-Bronco Jaydn Su’A was put on report and sin-binned for a high shot on centre Alex Glenn, starting a melee.
Yet the Rabbitohs weren’t to be denied, getting off the canvas to land what looked like a second half killer blow, scoring 10 points in a four-minute burst.
After landing a 60th minute penalty to grab a 10-8 lead, the match was turned on its head thanks to some Damien Cook magic.
The Rabbitohs hooker made a break before Cody Walker pounced on a perfect Adam Reynolds grubber kick in the 61st minute.
Three minutes later Cook was at it again, crashing over to score himself after a Dane Gagai bust to blow the scoreline out to 22-8.
Yet the Broncos didn’t die wondering.
Blockbusting forward David Fifita crashed over in the 67th minute before Kotoni Staggs scored 10 minutes later after a bust by Matt Gillett, playing his first game since round 15 because of a back injury.
And they looked like pulling off a stunning win when they regained possession in the dying moments after a Joe Ofahengaue strip, only for Cook to pull off a match-saving tackle on a try bound Oates.
The Broncos have provisionally dropped to eighth with two regular season rounds left.
It was South Sydney’s first win at Suncorp Stadium since round one 2015 and they did it without their skipper Sam Burgess who was ruled out with a quad injury.
And it also marked only South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett’s fifth win in 16 games against his former side Brisbane.
Demetriou also had the last laugh after Seibold dismissed his criticism that the Brisbane mentor couldn’t deliver in NRL finals, accusing the Rabbitohs deputy of being filthy for missing out on a head coaching gig.