A Tyrone Munro try with five minutes on the clock sealed a 21st premiership for South Sydney in the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup over a courageous North Sydney 22-18 in the grand final at CommBank Stadium on September 24.
The last time the Rabbitohs had some joy in NSWRL’s premier men’s competition was in 1983 when they defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12-6.
John Lanzky reports: “The Rabbitohs then played the Brisbane Tigers in the NRL State Championship game at Accor Stadium on Sunday October 1. The game was played in scorching conditions. Souths proved too strong, running away with it in the second half to win 42-22. Tyrone Munro starred again with three tries.
“With all the young talent coming through, we should be in good stead for coming seasons.”
Spring Carnival in full swing
Sydney and Melbourne’s spring racing carnivals are off and running. Major targets for the sprinters are the Everest over 1200 metres on October 14 at Randwick, the Manikato Stakes over 1200 metres on October 28 at Moonee Valley and the Champions Sprint over 1200 metres at Flemington on November 11. For the distance horses, the main aims are the Cox Plate over 2040 metres on October 28 at Moonee Valley, the Melbourne Cup over 3200 metres on November 7 and the Champions Stakes over 2000 metres on November 11 at Flemington.
For the Everest, the Manikato Stakes and the Champions Sprint, favoured runners at this stage are the Peter Moody trained Victorian I Wish I Win, In Secret, Uncommon James and Private Eye. 2021 Everest winner Giga Kick has unfortunately been ruled out of competing due to injury. For the Cox Plate and the Champions Stakes, star WA mare Amelia’s Jewel is heavily fancied, along with Romantic Warrior, Mr Brightside and the Waterhouse/Bott trained Alligator Blood.
For “the race that stops the nation”, international star Vauban is currently the favourite, ahead of Soulcombe, Breakup and another Waterhouse/Bott entry, Just Fine. Gai Waterhouse was recently inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. Waterhouse has claimed that the win of Fiorente in the 2013 Cup was one of the biggest thrills in her racing career.
Brisbane’s Neale seals Brownlow victory
Brisbane ball magnet Lachie Neale has been awarded the Brownlow Medal, claiming the AFL’s greatest individual honour for a second time.
The 30-year-old, who won the 2020 award and was runner-up last year, polled 31 votes to win from Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli (29) and Collingwood’s Nick Daicos (28), storming home with three-vote games in the final two rounds.
Neale is the first two-time winner since former Fremantle teammate Nat Fyfe in 2015 and 2019, and just the 16th player to win multiple Brownlow Medals.
