Marshall rallies Rabbitohs
EVERGREEN Benji Marshall has turned back the clock to engineer a stunning Rabbitohs fightback against the Titans in a show he will be a key cog in South Sydney’s premiership push.
Marshall scored two tries and had a hand in two others to lead South Sydney to a 40-30 victory over a gallant Titans side.
Marshall, who rose to prominence as a teen at Keebra Park High School, just overshadowed the efforts of David Fifita, who graduated from the same famous Gold Coast nursery more than a decade later.
Elevated to the starting side with Latrell Mitchell on the sidelines, Marshall showed the speed of a younger man, cool under pressure and the audacious skill that made him famous to show the wisdom of Wayne Bennett’s decision to sign him to a one-year deal just before his 36th birthday.
Despite the loss, the Titans will head to Suncorp Stadium next Friday night with confidence they challenged one of the NRL’s genuine premiership contenders.
The Queensland derby will be Fifita’s first appearance in Brisbane since he sensationally quit the Broncos to sign a $3.5 million deal with the Titans.
At halftime Fifita had busted 10 tackles and registered his second hat-trick of the year as the Titans bounced out to a 24-10 lead.
Fifita has made Cbus Super Stadium his happy hunting ground, netting eight tries in only three games at his new home ground.
He has scored nine tries in seven games this season to sit second in the NRL’s leading tryscorers for 2021.
The most remarkable thing about Fifita’s form is that opposition teams are powerless to stop him. There is little technical or tactical brilliance in what he does — it is just brute force and power from the 21year-old NRL sensation.
Fifita skittled four defenders in his first try, which was only awarded after he demanded a captain’s challenge, and left six Rabbitohs sprawling for his second four-pointer.
His third try came after he acted as a decoy then backed up Titans centre Brian Kelly in the 34th minute.
The Titans were on the back foot in the second half and no-one was able to stand up and take charge. PARRAMATTA was untroubled in brushing aside the Brisbane Broncos in Darwin last night, running in eight tries in a 46-6 win.
A Tevita Pangai Jr try levelled the scores in the 10th minute, but it was all Parramatta after that, with Maika Sivo scoring three tries and Mitchell Moses tallying 14 points in the comfortable win.