'Let ourselves down': Bunnies rue errors in Vegas loss

Jason Demetriou has lamented the defensive lapses and costly errors from the Rabbitohs, with his side falling short 36-24 in a historic NRL clash in Las Vegas.

After leading on multiple occasions throughout the course of the 80 minutes against the Sea Eagles, the star-studded South Sydney lineup were their own worst enemy, handing over field position and simple tries to their opponents in the second-half.

Ben Trbojevic, Reuben Garrick and Luke Brooks were the beneficiaries of the continued ill-discipline from the Bunnies, with the latter crossing for the match-winner in an impressive debut for Manly.

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Speaking to the media post-match, Demetriou pointed out the crucial 15-minute period after Alex Johnston’s try that ultimately saw the cardinal and myrtle fall short in Vegas.

Latrell Mitchell had a mixed performance for the Rabbitohs in Las Vegas.

“The supporters today got a good show, but unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the scoreboard tonight,” the coach said.

“In the first-half, we had control of the game and came up with a couple of poor things … same again in the second-half. We started well, but then there was a 15-minute period where we can’t hold onto the footy and were coming up with some ordinary tries.

“We let ourselves down – that 15-minute period definitely hurt.”

Latrell Mitchell’s intercept pass to Jason Saab before half-time was wiped away just after the break by the superstar fullback, who scored a try of his own and set up Johnston, but his teammates were unable to keep that same intensity.

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Souths made 11 errors during the encounter – three less than their opponents – but gave away five penalties and missed 41 tackles in a patchy display.

Cameron Murray echoed the sentiments of his coach, but hopes to see the Rabbitohs push forward and leave the heartbreak of their America trip behind.

“It’s a good little reminder for us that you’re only as good as your last try or what you just put out on the park,” the captain said.

South Sydney will rue a number of crucial errors against Manly.

“We let ourselves down with our defence and we need to be able to defend our errors.

“We had some good chats in the dressing room. Everyone has held their heads up high, we know it’s a long season and it’s gonna be a longer season if we have our heads down and kicking stones and being really sad about it.

“There’s a lot of takeaways and good things that came from this game … we’ve got two weeks now to do our reviews and be better.”

Souths will now have close to two weeks off before the round two clash with Brisbane.