Rabbitohs prove too strong for Tigers in NRL State Championship

Souths Sydney have ensured the New South Wales dominance of the NRL State Championship continued after posting a 42-22 win against Brisbane Tigers.

While it was a tight start to the game, with Rabbitohs overcoming a horror start where they knocked on the opening kick-off, they were able to turn that around to score the first try of the day thanks to Tyrone Munro, who finished the game with a hat-trick.

The Bunnies scored their second try on the opposite side of the field, making goal-kicking tricky for Dean Hawkins and keeping the Tigers in the game, with Cole Geyer going over with his first touch when he came on mid-way through the first half.

However, the Rabbitohs went into the break with winning momentum, with Munro sneaking over just before the halftime siren to help his side to a 12-6 lead with Hawkins unable to convert any of the first half tries. 

Despite the Tigers being within reach of an upset, it was a telling period at the start of the second half where the Rabbitohs ran in three tries in six minutes to inflict major damage to the Tigers, with Ethan O'Neill crossing for the first try of the second half after putting in a good chase on a Hawkins kick.

That was quickly followed by an against-the-odds put-down by Dion Teaupa, with the Rabbitohs seemingly doing their best not to score after taking some interesting options in the lead-up, before Munro completed his hat-trick after backing up some good work from his inside players. 

Despite conceding those quick-fire tries, the Tigers didn't give up, and had a few close chances of their own in the second half; and were finally rewarded when Thomas Rafter went over with a nicely timed run onto a Ryley Jacks pass.

That gave the Tigers some renewed energy and they upped the pressure on the Bunnies by throwing the ball around, but the NSW winners were able to hold firm, extinguishing Brisbane's fire when Tom Carr scooped up a loose Tigers pass off the deck to race the length of the field, scoring against the run of play and picking up his second try of the afternoon in the process.

From there, the Rabbitohs were in control, with Tallis Duncan scoring a late try in a fitting reward for a strong game.

The Tigers did manage to finish the match on a positive note however, crossing for two tries in a flurry, with consolation four-pointers to Solomona Faataape and Kane Bradley, who was one of the best for the Queensland side.