Wayne Bennett has enjoyed the last laugh over Brisbane following South Sydney’s 38-6 NRL romp over the Broncos.
With NSW 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 at ANZ Stadium on Thursday night.
The match was billed as a grudge match between coach Bennett and his Broncos counterpart Anthony Seibold following their off-season coaching swap.
However the game had all but fizzled out as a spectacle by halftime 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 biggest winning margin over the Broncos – joing 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 – on both occasions he caught out Tevita Pangai Junior and fullback Darius Boyd – who was playing his 300th first-grade game.
Both Walker and halves partner Adam Reynolds – who ran 70m off an Anthony Milford intercept to score – paid tribute to retired ex-teammate Greg Inglis by mimicking his famous goanna post-try celebration.
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.
Halfback Kodi Nikorima sat out the match and is expected to depart for the Warriors after this weekend – his replacement 18-year-old Tom Dearden did a commendable job in difficult circumstances.
He 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.