Very, very welcome ball movement. Physicality from Mitchell and Fifita – who swatted Manly’s star signing Jamal Fogarty away like a bug on his windshield with his first carry.
Jye Gray matched it. Along with bouncing and bounding every which way, the Rabbitohs No.1 skittled Corey Waddell, the Sea Eagles back-rower with 20 centimetres and 20 kilos on him. Jack Wighton was sharp outside him on a new-look right-edge.
Latrell Mitchell celebrates a try in Mudgee.Credit: NRL Imagery
Brandon Smith looked slim and trim and played as such, with a couple of those sexy one-handed pick-ups for dummy-half runs, that at his best, make him one of the game’s premier No.9s.
Yet it’s been in the halves where the Rabbitohs have battled most in recent years, with Walker regularly laid low by soft tissue injuries, Lewis Dodd and Lachlan Ilias sent packing and little cohesion or consistency to speak of.
In Mudgee, the moustachioed Walker looked a fit 36 and ran like he was 10 years younger again.
A light-stepping solo try, three line-breaks and 96 run metres in one half alone had the veteran No.6 looking every bit a modern-day Cliffy Lyons. And gasping like he’d been into Cliffy’s lung-busters when grabbed for a halftime interview.
Brandon Smith was full of running for the Rabbitohs.Credit: NRL Imagery
“It’s the first time I’ve had a really good pre-season in about three years, so I’m looking forward to the start of the season,” Walker said.
And that left edge that will add Alex Johnston outside Fifita and Mitchell come round one against the Dolphins?
“Look that’s going to continue to grow. We’ve got that many strike weapons over there so I’m going to have a ball this year.”
Ashton Ward, meanwhile, happily chanced his hand at halfback, forced a slew of repeat sets and put forth a compelling case to start the season given Jamie Humphries is suspended and Bud Sullivan unlikely to be fully fit.
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When Bennett holstered his big guns towards the hour-mark, Souths scored three tries in eight minutes as Manly wilted first. For Anthony Seibold and increasingly beleaguered Sea Eagles fans, remember that small mountain of trials footy salt.
Fogarty had a moment or two as their new No.7. Fellow recruit Kobe Hetherington and the underrated Ethan Bullemor added punch through the middle when they came off the bench.
And as the contest wound down, prodigious young playmaker Joey Walsh continued to impress with nous and creativity. Which is what Souths have had all along, just mostly watching from the sidelines.
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