Rabbitohs out of NRL finals contention after Storm loss

The South Sydney Rabbitohs no longer have a mathematical chance of making the top eight in the NRL after losing 28-16 to the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night in Sydney.

Melbourne began the way they meant to carry on in the opening match of round 23, crossing over through Will Warbrick in the sixth minute.

It was the first of Warbrick’s two tries at Accor Stadium, with the winger dotting down again before half-time.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona also bagged a try, barrelling his way over the line from short range midway through the first half.

Ryan Papenhuyzen scored for the Storm as well, making it 22-4 at half-time with only Fletcher Myers adding to the Rabbitohs’ tally.

A try to Grant Anderson immediately after half-time made it a 22-point lead and effectively sealed the result.

South Sydney did make a brief resurgence after the break, with Myers scoring his second before Cameron Murray touched down with 10 minutes to go.

However, the Storm defended resolutely and closed out the match with a penalty goal, bagging two competition points to extend their lead at the top of the NRL table.

Coach Bellamy unhappy with Storm performance

Despite the 12-point victory, the Storm’s head coach, Craig Bellamy, was unhappy with the level they showed on Thursday night.

“We’re just lacking some consistency at the moment, and it continued again tonight,” he said after the match.

“If we do that next week, the bloke up in the scoreboard is going to be busy on one side.

“And it won’t be our side.”

Melbourne face the second-placed Penrith Panthers next weekend in a match that could well determine who wins the minor premiership in 2024.

According to Bellamy, however, that top-of-the-table clash was not a focus during the week.

“I can honestly say that during the week the Penrith game was never mentioned,” he said.

“We’re always like that though.

“We take each game as it comes and don’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

“But it wasn’t great practice for what will be facing next week either.”

Rabbitohs fail to live up to 2024 expectations

Heading into the 2024 NRL season, rugby league bookmakers had South Sydney as third favourite to win the title at $8.50.

However, losses in 10 of their first 11 matches quickly led to the Rabbitohs dropping out of title contention.

While five wins in a row from late May to early July gave them some hope of making the finals, a run of three consecutive losses means they are no longer able to make the top eight.

Sports news