Raiders continue hot streak with big win over Rabbitohs

With the Green Machine looking to keep their top-eight hopes alive, they came out with strong, establishing sets.

But with the in-form Rabbitohs pushing back, it was a physical contest from the beginning.

After a six again was awarded in the middle of the field for a ruck infringement, the ball moved down the left side in short, sharp passes, but it was Ethan Strange who made a linebreak to pass to Owen Pattie for the young hooker to cross over for four points.

A successful conversion from Sanders saw the score open to 6-nil.

In what seemed like pass-after-pass, Jed Stuart pulled through with a try assist, and Hudson Young managed to get his hands on the ball and make a break to cross over in the corner to extend the lead to 10-0.

Through some physicality, Souths halfback Ashton Ward made a linebreak through multiple Raiders’ defenders in the 16th minute to cross over for South Sydney’s first points of the match.

He backed this up by converting his own try, closing the gap to 10-6.

In some eyes up football, Ethan Stange intercepted an Ashton Ward pass which saw him off and racing with the ball in hand. With Matthew Dufty right on his tail, he saw an open player in Kaeo Weekes to continue the length of the field to score an epic try.

It was a challenge, but Ethan Sanders sweetened the deal with a conversion on the edge.

But the score didn't stay like this for long, with the Green Machine backing up another four points through young second-rower Noah Martin, spinning and twisting through the Rabbitohs' defence just outside the posts.

This saw the score sitting comfortably 22-6.

Raiders halfback Ethan Sanders nailed a 40/20 just minutes later, before speedster Kaeo Weekes broke through to add on to the tally, extending the lead even further to 28-6.

After a close call on the sideline, Xavier Savage twisted over to just edge the ball on the white line. However, this was sent to the Bunker on the grounds of lost possession before the ball was grounded. This ended up being correct as Cody Walker’s left hand was touching the ball while Savage lost possession.

Going out for the second half, the Raiders were looking to keep their style of football going in front of a home crowd, while the Bunnies were looking to gain some points on the scoreboard.

But it was classic South-Sydney style football with a try from Alex Johnston on the edge in the 47th minute.

With a successful conversion from Ashton Ward, the Bunnies closed the gap to 28-12.

But the Rabbitohs backed up not long after with a linebreak turned try through the middle from their skipper Cam Murray off the back of an overlap from the Raiders’ defence. This saw the score sit 28-18.

The following set, Hudson Young came from the field with a suspected lower leg injury and didn't return.

But the Raiders responded through Jed Stuart, who scooped up a loose ball to run 80 metres and score an important try. Sanders made it a 6-point try, seeing the score 34-18.

Off the back of a linebreak from Brandon Smith on the 30m line, Euan Aitken scooped up a loose ball before passing it to Cody Walker for the veteran to close the gap further to 34-24.

Just when we thought it was all locked away, Campbell Graham went over for four off the back of an Ashton Ward pass from the middle of the pack. However, this was taken to the Bunker on the grounds of obstruction during the back play from David Fifita on Ethan Sanders and the try was reversed.

The Green Machine closed out the 34-24 victory. The Raiders will look to go for four wins in a row against the West Tigers next Saturday at GIO Stadium.