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Wayne Bennett has enjoyed the last laugh over Brisbane and Anthony Seibold following South Sydney's 38-6 romp against the Broncos at the Olympic stadium in Homebush.
Key points:
- Wayne Bennett and Anthony Seibold were coaching against each other for the first time since their off-season coach swap
- Five-eighth Cody Walker dominated for the Rabbitohs, scoring two of their six tries
- The Rabbitohs now have a 7-1 win-loss record, while the Broncos are 2-6 through eight rounds
With New South Wales coach Brad Fittler watching on, Rabbitohs five-eighth Cody Walker continued his near-irresistible push for a Blues call-up in the six-tries-to-one rout on Thursday night.
The match was billed as a grudge match between coach Bennett and his Broncos counterpart Seibold following their off-season coaching swap.
As a contest, however, it had all but fizzled out as a spectacle by half-time with the Rabbitohs opening up a 24-0 lead thanks to a Walker masterclass.
After being sacked by the Broncos in December, Bennett exacted a measure of revenge against his former club and now has the Rabbitohs flying at 7-1 — the club's equal-best start since 1989.
It was also the Rabbitohs' equal largest winning margin over the Broncos, joining their 44-12 victory in 2009.
Importantly, the Rabbitohs flexed their muscle after a series of scratchy wins to reinforce their premiership credentials.
Walker had a double inside 18 minutes, having caught out Tevita Pangai Junior and full-back Darius Boyd, who was playing his 300th first grade match.
Both Walker and halves partner Adam Reynolds, who ran 70 metres off an Anthony Milford intercept to score, paid tribute to retired ex-teammate Greg Inglis by mimicking his famous goanna post-try celebration.
Inglis was presented to the crowd before the match, with family and friends among those to form a guard of honour.
Walker was again in the action when he sucked in James Roberts to send Kyle Turner over to effectively end the contest by the midway point.
The result leaves the Broncos struggling at 2-6 to increase the pressure on Seibold.
Half-back Kodi Nikorima sat out the match and is expected to depart for the Warriors after this weekend, with his replacement 18-year-old Tom Dearden did a commendable job in difficult circumstances.
Dearden was targeted in defence and absorbed several hard knocks but was vocal organising his more experienced teammates.
A poor night for the Broncos was summed up when Corey Oates dropped the ball over the line, the catalyst for Sam Burgess to score off the next set to restore the 24-point buffer.
AAP/ABC
Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, australia, qld, brisbane-4000, nsw, redfern-2016, homebush-2140
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