Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker were in everything as South Sydney’s epic match-up against Melbourne ended up being an epic mismatch.
Mitchell and Walker had a try and four try assists between them as the Rabbitohs racked up their fifth win on the trot to sit second on the ladder. It is one hell of a feat considering the tough draw they have faced to start the year.
Two days after being given a rock-star reception in an Indigenous community in the far north of NSW en route to Magic Round, Mitchell and Walker turned it on for the 50,183 fans inside Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Seriously, this truly could be the year of the Rabbit.
Mitchell is playing with so much enthusiasm and power and class.
How else do you explain the way he jumped into dummy-half on the last play of a set in the sixth minute, looked up, went to pass, only to drop it on to his non-preferred right boot for Walker to steam through and score the opening try.
It was instinctive and the type of stuff that is impossible to defend.
Or what about the way Mitchell dropped the ball on to his boot for a well-weighted kick for Alex Johnston, playing his 200th NRL game, to score the first of his two tries.
Mitchell even roughed up his Kangaroos World Cup teammate Harry Grant when he tackled him in the air.
As for Walker, Souths coach Jason Demetriou labelled him the best five-eighth in the game after a win over the Dolphins.
It was a big call at the time, but he was clearly the premier No. 6 on the park as Melbourne counterpart Cameron Munster was kept quiet.
Walker’s passing game has been exceptional this year, while he has also gone looking for plenty of work. He looked like he was about to lose his cool, especially after he claimed he was wiped out by Eli Katoa in the lead-up to the Storm’s first try, but he remained on his best behaviour.
Cody Walker (right) celebrates with teammates after scoring a try after a pinpoint Latrell Mitchell kick.Credit: Getty
Forward Liam Knight made a successful return to the NRL while Johnston, just the eighth player to reach 200 games for Souths, celebrated a deserved win.
He should have had three tries when Walker snuck a pass for him in the final seconds, only to spill the ball.
Wests Tigers await the Rabbitohs next Saturday, followed by Parramatta and then Canberra.
The Origin campaign appears the only thing that will pump the brakes on Souths’ momentum.
The game started fast with plenty of big hits and few errors.
Walker scored off Mitchell’s kick before Walker took the ball to the line and threw a short ball for Jacob Host to trample over the top of Jahrome Hughes for their second.
The Storm then enjoyed the bulk of field position and possession, but could not penetrate the red and green wall.
They jagged a try before the break via Reimis Smith, but Souths would have taken plenty of heart with their ability to keep turning away the ‘home’ side.
Demetriou would have arguably been more pleased with the grit shown in defence rather than the ease his players are scoring points.
Melbourne went into the match with an unbelievable record of 32 wins from their 38 matches against Souths.
They now have the quick back-up against table-toppers Brisbane on Thursday night.
The Storm will still push deep into September. They still have Ryan Papenhuyzen to return. There’s every chance these two will be squaring off against each other in the decider. That would be magic.
