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Latrell Mitchell produced a trademark moment of magic with a booming two-point field goal as South Sydney registered one of the biggest upsets of the season.
The Rabbitohs seemed dead and buried after falling 14-0 behind but clawed their way back to level terms before Mitchell booted his team to glory with two minutes left from 48 metres out.
He even added the sneakiest of tries on the full-time siren to kick-start 22-14 victory celebrations for a South Sydney side missing seven regular first-graders due to injury.
In the earlier game, Gold Coast bounced back from a 20-point deficit to show there is life in the joint to knock over the Knights in Newcastle 24-20 to give Des Hasler renewed hope that he can ride out the most difficult phase of his career.
The Knights were strong in their first half at Newcastle but were putrid in the second stanza.
Gold Coast took half an hour to get started and by the time they strung together a decent stretch of game time they were down 20-0. At least they were able to come back in the second half to record an against the odds win – it would be great if they could show that kind of resilience on a more regular basis than once in a blue moon.
Brisbane’s attack was off kilter from the get-go at Accor Stadium with passes going to ground and the wrong player getting the ball way too often.
And they paid the price.
The heavily depleted Rabbitohs were probably the only team on Friday night who stuck to their task the entire match in front of roughly 70,000 empty seats and the diehard fans who turned out in the hope that they might have been able to upset the Broncos.
They went home elated after Mitchell’s magnificence caught the Broncos with their pants down.
Mitchell is the epitome of a big-game player.
The bigger the moment, the better he is.
Possibly the most naturally gifted player in the NRL, he is often accused of laziness but when the game is on the line, who else would you want stepping into the spotlight?
The way he nonchalantly nailed the 48-metre attempt at field goal in the rain at Accor Stadium was the hallmark of a special talent.
“I don’t think we thought it was going over there but all of a sudden we got excited,” said Souths coach Wayne Bennett.
He had prevented Brisbane from possibly sealing the result in the 63rd minute when he scampered across in cover defence to bring down visiting winger Deine Mariner just before he could reach out to plant the ball down inside the right cornerpost.
Mitchell thought he had conjured up a match-winner with 10 minutes to go after stealing the pill from Selwyn Cobbo but the touch judge ruled Bayleigh Bentley-Hape had stepped on the sideline with his pass back inside to the fullback.
The replays were inconclusive and it did not go to the Bunker but Mitchell managed to square the ledger at 14-14 soon after anyway via a penalty goal after a high shot from Xavier Willison.
His last-second try was as cheeky as you can get – he looked like he was going to yield to a voluntary tackle after taking the ball at dummy-half a couple of metres out from the line but then waited until defenders had turned their back before scrambling over for the easiest of four-pointers.
“He just does what Latrell can do. That’s what makes him such a special player,” Bennett added.
“I hope they don’t (pick him for NSW) … he’s such a threat. They (Queensland) will all sleep better if he’s not playing for NSW.”
Latrell Mitchell is tackled. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Ben Hunt limped off with 13 minutes on the clock with what looked like a hamstring problem which could open the door for Ezra Mam’s return to the NRL squad next week.
Mam is playing in the Queensland Cup this weekend in his first appearance for 2025 after serving his drug-driving ban.
Hunt’s injury could also have Origin ramifications with the versatile veteran under pressure to hold his spot as the bench utility ahead of Cowboys co-captain Tom Dearden.
It had been an unhappy night for the 35-year-old who again struggled to have much of an impact playing second fiddle to halves partner Adam Reynolds.
Double-digit leads are no longer a guarantee of victory but Brisbane can blame no one but themselves for their ineptitude in kicking clear after crossing for two unanswered tries to Jordan Riki and Mariner in the first half.
“We’re chasing 80-minute games every week. We’ve seen signs but we’ve also seen the other,” coach Michael Maguire said.
“As a team they’ve got to learn how to do that or we’ll keep bumbling the same way we have been. It’s not good enough. Simple as that.”
At 20-0 down after 27 minutes, Hasler could have been forgiven if he was mentally rehearsing his resignation speech in the McDonald Jones Stadium coach’s box.
Or maybe trying to think up subplots about the referees, the Bunker or rainbow jerseys to try to divert attention away from another flogging.
But something remarkable happened – the Titans actually showed some fight.
Their club record for matches in which they trailed by 20 stood at precisely zero per cent of wins in this situation.
But they struck back just before the break via Phil Sami and when the right centre touched down six minutes after the interval via a Jaylan De Groot cut-out pass, Gold Coast had a sniff.
Earlier in the week, AJ Brimson bucked a historical trend by declaring his allegiance was no longer to Queensland even though he was born in the Sunshine State and the five-eighth cut the gap to just two points with 15 minutes left when he combined with Alofiana Khan-Pereira.
The potential England international then sealed the remarkable comeback victory with less then three minutes on the clock when Khan-Pereira provided him the winning try via a skilful kick infield off the outside edge of his boot as he was bundled into touch.
When the full-time siren sounded, Hasler sat in stunned silence – like the long-suffering Knights fans at the venue, he could not believe what he had seen.
“I’m not like that. It’s not about me,” Hasler said when asked about how the result helps him live to fight another day.
“I can’t do anything about the headlines, it’s just all opinion.
“What’s that old saying? It will be fish-and-chip wrapping tomorrow. It’s on the internet as well now, but you can order fish and chips on the internet.”
If any NRL coach wants to show a tutorial to their team on how not to play when you have a 20-point lead, all they need to do is fire up the footage of Newcastle’s performance.
At times they looked like they had put the cue in the rack way too early and then it appeared as though they were panicking with rushed passes.
Whatever they did it did not work and as their fundamental errors kept piling up, their lead kept dwindling.
Fletcher Sharpe continued his encouraging first season as a five-eighth with a try and an assist for Dylan Lucas’ opening four-pointer of the match.
But halfback Jack Cogger and captain Kalyn Ponga did not take control when needed to close the result out.
It was bad enough that the Knights let the Titans back into the contest but to give up such a lead was unforgivable and they now hold the same 3-6 record as their beleaguered opponents and about as much chance of making the finals – very little.
Heading into Friday’s match in Newcastle, all the heat was on Hasler to show he was still up to the task of turning the SS Titans around when it looked like he was at the helm of the SS Titanic.
But now the poisoned chalice of which coach is under the most pressure has now been passed to Adam O’Brien.
He has a stronger roster at his disposal and after making the finals last year, the Knights were expected to at least be in the running again this season.
But they have lost six of their nine starts and possess the worst attacking record in the NRL by far.
They roused out of their slumber with an emphatic win over Souths last week but fell back into their bad habits.
“It’s not a good habit to get into, getting ahead of yourself after one game,” coach Adam O’Brien said.
“I’m not saying everyone did that, but we got into a lead and fell into a hole. It’s a bit embarrassing to tell you the truth.”
with AAP