Souths win Gosford try-fest to keep finals hopes alive

After the Rabbitohs' five-game winning streak was ended by the Dolphins last time out, Ben Hornby's men twice came from behind to secure a vital two points to keep their slim hopes of a NRL finals berth alive.

Saturday afternoon's performance didn't match the heights they have reached during the past two months, but the Bunnies won't care. 

Their return to the winners' circle put them on 20 points and two wins shy of the top eight.

Any expectations of an underwhelming spectacle between sides ranked 15th and 17th on the ladder were dispelled in a frenetic opening 20 minutes.

South Sydney got out to an early lead through tries to Davvy Moale and captain Cody Walker but the Tigers quickly hit back with two four-pointers of their own.

It was a disappointing afternoon for the inexperienced Tigers outfit, who produced one of their most exciting attacking displays of the season but still fell short.

Lachie Galvin, 19, and Tallyn Da Silva, also 19, got on the scoreboard, as did Sione Fainu in a special moment for him and brothers Latu and Samuela, with all three sharing an NRL field together for the first time.

The Tigers' cubs best moment came right on the stroke of halftime, with Jahream Bula finishing off a sweeping passing move from deep inside their own half.

But errors and ill-discipline would frustrate the Tigers, and the long-suffering fans who made the trip up the M1, once again.

The Tigers completed just 70 per cent of their sets and conceded seven penalties to the Rabbitohs' two.

With 20 minutes to go and the scores level, Laulilii took his eyes off the ball while fielding a regulation pass on his 10-metre line from Bula. 

It spilled straight into the arms of Cook, who handed it to Walker to score the simplest of tries.

While the result was disappointing, Tigers coach Benji Marshall saw green shoots in the performance.

"I thought young Tallyn and the kids - Lachie (Galvin), Jahream - especially in that first half were really outstanding," he said. 

"We're at the stage now where we just can't find a way to put games away or control the game to a point where we win. We were ahead there at the back end and we found a way to still throw it away.

"That's sort of been the story of our season."

Without injured fullback Latrell Mitchell and suspended lock Cam Murray, the Rabbitohs' manpower was further reduced when centre Richard Kennar failed an HIA in the first half.

His replacement, Peter Mamezoulas, scored his first try of the season from dummy half after Cook, playing in his 200th NRL game, was shifted into the centres.

The Tigers' spirited resistance was ended 11 minutes from fulltime, when Aiden Sezer was sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle on Souths youngster Jye Gray - the club's 15th yellow card of the season.

Gray made the most of the numerical advantage to cross over in the 73rd minute and seal the win.

With talisman Mitchell due to miss at least the next two games with a foot injury, the diminutive fullback has proved an able deputy.

"He's a tough little lad, Jye," said Walker.

"People think he's small, but he's quite tough and he's quite strong and he's hard to handle for a little kid."

Australian Associated Press