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South Sydney survived a late Shark attack to record a 32-22 victory over Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium but the game could have enormous ramifications for the Queensland Origin side with two incumbents placed on report.
The Rabbitohs looked on the path to certain victory when they raced to a 20-0 lead inside 30 minutes only for Cronulla to launch a second-half fightback and pull within sight of victory to trail 20-16 with 14 minutes to play.
But Cronulla’s late fightback was thwarted when the referee Chris Sutton halted play in the 73rd minute to place Chad Townsend on report for what appeared to be an innocuous neck contact tackle two tackles earlier.
Prized Brisbane signing Adam Reynolds has taken the unusual step of defending Cronulla amid claims of botched negotiations by the NRL club, insisting he was very close to linking with the Sharks in 2022.
The South Sydney captain looked like a man with a heavy heart when he arrived in Brisbane on Thursday ahead of the NRL Magic Round to front media and confirm his three-year, $2 million-plus Broncos deal from next season after knocking back a Sharks offer.
While clearly disappointed to be ending a 10-season career at his childhood club, Reynolds said the challenge of rejuvenating the once-mighty Broncos into a premiership force again proved the difference in what he described as a very close tug of war for his signing.