Roosters' recruit Sonny Bill Williams finds it hard going against the South Sydney defence in his return to the NRL. Source: Getty Images
South Sydney's Nathan Merritt slides over to score against the Roosters in the NRL's season-opening match. Source: Getty Images
RUGBY league fans finally got the drug they craved last night. Before a crowd of more than 35,000 at Allianz Stadium, the NRL premiership kicked off with a match between two of the game's fiercest rivals and the return of Sonny Bill Williams.
After a pre-season dominated by the fall-out from the Australian Crime Commission report into drugs, match-fixing and organised crime, the focus finally returned to where it really matters - the field. By full-time after a 28-10 victory, South Sydney fans were dreaming of a premiership and Sydney Roosters supporters were dealing with a dose of reality.
Williams's comeback, which dominated the lead-up to the match, was merely a footnote as the Rabbitohs produced a clinical display. He had to be patient on his return as, five years after walking out on Canterbury, Williams was back in the bosom of rugby league.
He began the game on a plastic seat on the sideline and spent an eternity warming up - going through some bizarre stretching routines in the process - before eventually entering the fray in the 29th minute, only moments after Souths had extended its lead with a try to Nathan Merritt.
Williams roamed all over the field in search of work. Pre-match speculation suggested he would find himself on the right edge alongside Mitchell Pearce. Instead, he flitted between the middle and the left edge. He exchanged collisions with Sam Burgess. At times he looked frustrated as he searched for work.
There were some nice touches and the occasional mistake. He even finished the game with a try, strolling over off a short pass from lock Frank-Paul Nu'uausala.
"I didn't play too flash tonight, but we blew out the cobwebs," Williams told Triple M.
"Hopefully onwards and upwards from here. It's good to be back, a game I grew up playing. In that second half, I felt like I was finding my feet in the game again."
When all was said and done, Williams was powerless as the Rabbitohs produced an eye-catching performance to begin their campaign. That's no reflection on him. The eight Immortals could have pulled on Roosters jerseys last night and struggled to contain Souths.
"The boys set pretty high standards," Souths coach Michael Maguire said.
No one was more impressive than halfback Adam Reynolds. Up against Roosters No 7 Mitchell Pearce, the incumbent NSW halfback, Reynolds was among the Rabbitohs' best.
Of the three tries Souths scored in the first half, two came from kicks by Reynolds - the second when the ball deflected off Greg Inglis's head for Merritt to score.
"He's continually working hard and it's paying off with his game," Maguire said.
"He would probably be disappointed with his second-half kicks and it just goes to show a lot for the team. At the end of the day, the way he is understanding the game and the balance between pushing a pass or putting a kick in goal, it's a big thing for a team."
By half-time, the Rabbitohs led 16-4, their domination aided to a large extent by the Roosters' ill-discipline - the half-time penalty count was 6-1 in favour of Souths.
Even an ugly cut above his eye, suffered when he copped a stray elbow from Roosters forward Aidan Guerra, couldn't stop Reynolds. By then, the Rabbitohs had added to their advantage when George Burgess crashed over.
Any hope of a Roosters comeback came to an end when Merritt made it a hat-trick midway through the second half. By then the score was 28-4. Not surprisingly, Inglis was in the thick of it as well. Not that we needed reminding, but Williams wasn't the only superstar on show. There weren't any 60m breaks, but everything Inglis did had a touch of class about it. In the end, he was involved in four of Souths' five tries. His hands for Merritt's finale were brilliant.
The only negative for the Rabbitohs on the night was the placing on report of Sam Burgess for a high shot on Pearce 18 minutes into the second half.
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