Sutton hurt in shock Cowboys win - Fox Sports

John Sutton of the Rabbitohs is assisted from the field after being injured. Source: Ian Hitchcock / Getty Images

SOUTH Sydney's tilt at a first premiership in 42 years could be decided Sunday, when star five-eighth John Sutton has scans on an injured left ankle.

5 Tries 2
Brent Tate 5'	Bryson Goodwin 76'
Tariq Sims 39'	George Burgess 80'
Kane Linnett 55'
Robert Lui 62'
Kane Linnett 69'
4 Conversions 2
Johnathan Thurston 40'	Adam Reynolds 77'
Johnathan Thurston 57'	Adam Reynolds 80'
Johnathan Thurston 64'
Johnathan Thurston 71'
1 Penalties 0
Johnathan Thurston 32'

The early diagnosis was that Sutton suffered a syndesmosis - high ankle sprain - to his left leg in the 35th minute of Saturday night's 30-12 loss against a committed Cowboys outfit.

Of greater concern were reports that Sutton heard a crack as his leg buckled under the weight of a two-man tackle.

With superstar fullback Greg Inglis already out with a knee injury, the potential loss of Sutton for a lengthy period would be a costly double-whammy for the Rabbitohs, who have put themselves in the best position to challenge for a grand final spot since they won the minor premiership in 1989.

Inglis is at least another two weeks away from returning to the field and without the strike players, the competition pace-setters come back to the pack significantly as was shown by the whitewash by the free-running Cowboys.

Sutton's injury places even more pressure on young gun Luke Keary, who will be expected fill the playmaking breach in his absence.

There was another major scare when halfback Adam Reynolds had his left knee buckle passing the ball without a defender near him, but he managed to play on.

The Rabbitohs were also off their game, with the Cowboys forwards regularly marching upfield as they responded positively to the sacking of coach Neil Henry.

Henry said in the lead up to this game that his team were still motivated and had a mathematical, if highly unlikely, chance of making the finals.

They proved him right in the opening half.

The Cowboys played spirited football early, off-loading at will and running around the giant Rabbitohs pack.

Following their 32-4 demolition of the Gold Coast Titans last week, the Rabbitohs clearly looked flat.

Coach Michael Maguire and his Bunnies spent the week on the tourist strip, an idea that has been the pitfall for many teams in the past.

A string of early penalties didn't help the Rabbitohs' cause either as the Cowboys dominated possession in the opening 20 minutes.

South Sydney prop Jeff Lima was put on report for a shoulder charge on Johnathan Thurston in the 25th minute and, from the resulting penalty, the victim booted a goal to make it 6-0.

The Cowboys then made their shock start a sizeable half-time lead.

A Thurston classic show-and-go split the Rabbitohs defence and he linked with Tariq Sims who fended off chasers to score under the posts for a 12-0 halftime lead.

After being denied by the video referee twice after the break, centre Kane Linnett powered over to make it 18-0 and place further question marks over South Sydney's title credentials before going on to register a double.