South Sydney travelled to the Gold Coast in round 9 to take on the Titans in what shaped up as a very enticing match with the Rabbitohs starting find their best form in recent weeks and the Titans having won six of their eight games however, inside of the first 20 minutes, the Rabbitohs had run in four tries and raced to a 22 – nil lead.
Where and when: ANZ Stadium, Friday May 16, 7:40pm
Whilst the Titans were able to slow the rate of scoring with two late first half tries, it was simply a position that they could not recover from with the Rabbitohs running three more tries in the second half, registering a comprehensive 40 – 18 win.
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It was the Rabbitohs’ fourth win in the past five weeks and continued their improving form. It also highlighted how damaging the Rabbitohs can be in attack.
Exciting young centre Dylan Walker is proving to be a star of the future and adds another weapon to the Rabbitohs bristling back-line.
After a slow start to the season, it appears to be all systems go now for the Rabbitohs who after Melbourne this week, face three matches against teams currently outside of the eight and struggling for form.
A try in the 76th minute to Melbourne Storm debutante Kurt Mann, saw the Storm produce another miraculous win in round 8, defeating Manly 22 – 19.
The Storm were trailing 19- 10 with ten minutes to go but star half-back Cooper Cronk rose to the occasion, scoring a try and setting up the four-pointer for Mann with a perfectly placed cross-field kick.
They now have won five games for the season, by margins of 1, 1, 8, 4 and 3 points, and hold onto the last spot in the top eight.
The win relieves some pressure for the Storm who had only one win from their previous five matches but it was a match that so could’ve easily seen them 1 – 6.
The Storm have a dominant record over the Rabbitohs, having win 15 of 18 games played between the two clubs since 2004 however, the most recent clash, the opening round of last year’s final series, went to the Rabbitohs 20 – 10 and the momentum over the past month is certainly with them when compared to the Storm.
The Rabbitohs appear set to record successive victories over Melbourne for the very first time.
Each of the last eight games between the two sides has seen the total match score reach no higher 34 points with the average sitting just over 30 but with South in point scoring mode at present, would expect more here.
TIP: SOUTHS 13 +
Odds Comparison:
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| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1.45 | 1.47 | 1.44 | 1.47 | 1.45 | 1.48 |
| Melbourne Storm | 2.85 | 2.75 | 2.85 | 2.75 | 2.85 | 2.70 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
South Sydney Rabbitohs: 
1. Greg Inglis 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dylan Walker 4. Kirisome Auva’a 5. Bryson Goodwin 6. John Sutton 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. David Tyrrell 11. Kyle Turner 12. Ben Te’o 13. Sam Burgess. Interchange: 14. Cameron McInnes 15. Jason Clark 16. Chris McQueen 17. Luke Burgess 18. Joel Reddy 19. Ben Lowe
Melbourne Storm: 
1.Billy Slater 2. Sisa Waqa 3. Will Chambers 4. Kurt Mann 5. Young Tonumaipea 6. Joel Romelo 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Bryan Norrie 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: 14. Kenny Bromwich 15. Tohu Harris 16. Dayne Weston 17. George Rose
