Broncos Smash Battered Bunnies as Bennett Battles Worst Injury Toll Yet
What a wild round of NRL action it’s been — and none more eye-opening than what happened Friday night at Lang Park, where the Brisbane Broncos absolutely thumped the South Sydney Rabbitohs 60 to 14. But while the scoreboard tells a story of dominance, there’s a much deeper – and in many ways sadder – tale behind that result, especially for Souths and their legendary coach Wayne Bennett.
Now, if you want a clear sign of how bad South Sydney’s injury crisis is, get this: they couldn’t even name an 18th man. Peter Mamouzelos was meant to fill that spot, but concussion symptoms re-emerged before kickoff, and with no healthy players left, the Bunnies went into battle short-handed — literally.
Wayne Bennett, who’s been coaching in the premiership since the late 1980s, admitted he’s never seen anything like this. Thirteen players were sidelined, and by the end of the game, they’d lost another — hooker Ryan Gray went down with a shoulder injury early on. Bennett said he’s dealt with injury runs before, but this is the worst in his career.
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Despite it all, he didn’t criticise his young side. In fact, he praised their effort, noting that their starting spine had just 30 NRL games combined. They were in the fight early, trailing by only 10 at halftime, but they simply ran out of steam. As Bennett put it, “They hit the wall tonight.”
On the other hand, Brisbane were clinical. Fullback Reece Walsh bounced back from a shaky performance last week with a huge game — four try assists and one of his own. Adam Reynolds kicked ten goals from ten attempts, and the Broncos scored five tries in the second half alone. Deine Mariner bagged a double, and Kotoni Staggs and Ezra Mam both crossed twice in a dazzling second-half surge.
But it wasn’t all good news for Brisbane. Rising prop Xavier Willison broke his arm mid-match and is expected to miss up to six weeks. Payne Haas was also ruled out with a skin infection, but the Broncos still had far too much firepower for the depleted Rabbitohs.
Meanwhile, over in New Zealand, the Dolphins pulled off a dramatic 20-18 win over the Warriors, but not without paying a price. Herbie Farnworth, one of their top players, suffered a significant hamstring injury and could be sidelined for weeks. Still, Jamayne Isaako’s late try sealed a thrilling comeback that keeps the Dolphins in the finals hunt.
So, big wins for Brisbane and the Phins — but costly ones. And for Souths, the nightmare run continues, with a wooden spoon looking more likely unless their big names like Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell can return soon. One thing’s clear: Wayne Bennett’s coaching legacy is being tested like never before.
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