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Bunnies 18 bath Roosters 6 at Aussie

South Sydney’s new star recruits David Kidwell, Roy Asotasi and Nigel Vagana amongst others led the way for the Bunnies tonight in a convincing win over neighbors the Sydney Roosters, racing to a 12-0 first half lead before finishing the job later on.

Up to 24,000 people braved the wet conditions, with the Rabbitohs impressive start to the season putting other leading NRL teams on notice.

On a slightly cold and miserable night, South Sydney came out on fire and put the Roosters to the sword from the get go, scoring a try just 14 minutes in.

Attacking close to the Roosters line, diminutive halfback Joe Williams was the beneficiary of South’s first try of the new competition, slicing through some flimsy defence and diving over the white line for a try.

Shell shocked and disorientated, the Roosters found themselves further behind just three minutes later, when former Bulldogs and Cronulla centre Nigel Vagana grabbed his first try of 2007.

Attacking inside the Rooster’s red zone, the Rabbitohs moved the ball from left to right, with new five-eighth Jeremy Smith placing a perfectly weighted grubber kick for the New Zealand international to pounce on and skilfully ground the ball just a centimetre inside the try line.

With the Rabbits up 12 points to nil, the two teams began to bulk up in defence.

Both sides were guilty of performing some questionable tackles, however neither side was able to make any further impression on the score line by half time.

Coming into the second half, South’s coach Jason Taylor’s instructions would have been for more of the same, and that’s exactly what he got.

Just six minutes in Williams extended his side’s lead by a further two points, slotting a penalty between the sticks.

The Rabbitohs were then denied the opportunity to wrap up the game shortly before the hour mark, with the video hreferee ruling out South Sydney’s try for obstruction.

The men in green and red were to rue their missed opportunity as the Roosters went the length of the field to pull back a four pointer of their own.

A high bomb put up in the air had Nathan Merritt in all sorts of trouble, with the little winger fumbling the ball on his own line and new Roosters halfback Josh Lewis picking up the pieces and reducing the score by six points.

However, unlike former South Sydney outfits this side was not about to implode, and after a few attempts the new look Rabbitohs were able to finally wrap up the game 13 minutes from time.

Close to the Roosters line, a beautiful sweeping move opened up an overlap on the far left hand side, with quick hands allowing Nigel Vagana a clear path to the try line and an impressive 18-6 win over the Roosters.

The surprise win will have the South Sydney outfit in good steed for next week’s showdown against the Parramatta Eels,

But the Roosters will need to pick up the pieces and regroup for their clash against the North Queensland Cowboys if they want their 1000^th win to come sooner rather than later.

SOUTH SYDNEY 18 (N Vagana 2 J Williams tries; J Williams 3 goals) def SYDNEY ROOSTERS 6 (J Lewis try; C Fitzgibbon goal)
Referee: P Simpkins Crowd: 24,127 at Aussie Stadium.