Seven sin bins headline frenetic Roosters vs. Rabbitohs clash

Joshua Mayne

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Seven sin bins headline frenetic Roosters vs. Rabbitohs clash image

The highly-anticipated elimination final between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs well and truly delivered.

An astounding seven sin bins were handed out in a chaotic clash that saw the Rabbitohs emerge victorious 30-14.

With intensity at a level not seen since this year's Origin decider, it didn't take long for tensions to boil over.

Victor Radley was sent to the sin bin after just four minutes, penalised for throwing a punch whilst tussling with Taane Milne on the ground after a tackle.

Although the contact wasn't particularly forceful, a closed fist didn't help the Roosters lock's cause.

The Rabbitohs immediately made the most of their one-man advantage, with Alex Johnston crossing for the first try of the match.

However, the Roosters bounced back through Angus Crichton and Daniel Tupou, who scored tries in quick succession to shift the momentum of the game towards the Tricolours.

Following Radley's return, the sin bins just kept coming.

Tom Burgess and Milne were both given their marching orders for separate high tackle incidents, just one minute apart from each other.

Souths captain Cameron Murray argued that Burgess' hit was an unfortunate rebound, but his defence of the Englishman didn't convince referee Ashley Klein.

Remarkably, the Rabbitohs weren't fazed despite going down to 11 men, with Latrell Mitchell crossing in emphatic fashion to help his side to a 12-8 halftime lead.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves continued the sin bin trend in the second half, dismissed for a head slam on Burgess in the 50th minute.

Radley then received his second sin bin of the match, given his marching orders along with Tevita Tatola following an altercation involving most players on the field.

Five minutes later, Milne was also given his marching orders for the second time with another high tackle.

The seven sin bins dished out in the match was a record in the NRL, now the most ever handed out in a single game.

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and journalist at Ministry of Sport. While Joshua’s main passions are football, rugby league, basketball and F1, he will watch any sport that's on. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.