Two long range team tries against the run of play helped Souths claim an important 25-21 victory over Bond and move back into the top four after eight rounds. 

The Magpies started and finished the match with two of the best five pointers you’ll see this season but were less impressive through the middle portion of the match. 

“We spoke during the week about how important a game it was for us. Bond had our number last year, so it was good to get one back against them,” Souths skipper Kohan Herbert told Rugby News. 

“It was good to get the win but we didn’t play as well as we would have liked and had to really dig deep in that last 20 minutes to grind out the result.”

Harry Mclaughlin-Phillips ran the ball from his in-goal to start and finish a long range team try in the 10th minute to open the scoring for his side. 

But after two tries in five minutes to Bond winger Hamish Roberts, the Magpies trailed 21-18 inside the final 10 minutes. 

With the match in the balance, the Magpies rode their luck on Ladies Day and scored a second long range gem from inside their own half to regain the lead. 

Capitalising on a lineout overthrow by Bond, Souths’ spread the ball, regathered a kick that was charged down and supported nicely on the inside to score in the 72nd minute and claim their first win in over a month of rugby. 

“We’ve had four wins, two losses and a draw so far whereas at this stage last year we’d only won three games and were a fair bit lower on the table,” Herbert explained. 

“We’re sitting in the top four at the moment but we know we haven’t played our best rugby yet. 

“Things haven’t really gone our way over the last few weeks but we managed to grind out that win on Saturday even after playing poorly and that was really important for the psyche of the group.”

Souths were arguably the form side of the competition across the opening month but have come back to the pack more recently. 

“Our first three games were really good. Even though we didn’t get the result against Brothers, as a team we played really well that game,” Herbert continued. 

“Then we had a few injuries after Brothers and had to make some changes across the side. We lacked a bit of cohesion after that and that’s something we need to learn to adapt to. 

“Injuries are going to happen but we want to play every week like we did at the start of the year, regardless of who is in and who is out.”

Souths sit fourth as the halfway mark of the regular season approaches and Herbert said there is a belief in the group that the Magpies can feature prominently at the backend of this season. 

“A lot of us have taken a big step up this year in terms of our professionalism. We’re spending a lot more time on our reviews each week and the coaches are doing a great job there to make us all better players. We’re acting more like a professional team in a semi professional environment. 

“That’s created a fair bit of belief within the group and I think everyone now believes that we can go all the way and beat sides like Brothers and Wests.”

Souths travel to face Wests in round nine and could claim a spot in the top two and take plenty of confidence into the back half of the season, if they can beat last year’s grand finalists on Saturday. 

“Wests have been a really good side for a number of years now. They are big bodies and watching their game from last weekend, they’ve got some big guys up front and in the backs, they are all fit, fast and strong,” Herbert said. 

“We just need to play direct, get in their face and show them the type of side we are now. If we can do that and play the full 80 minutes, then I think we’re a good chance of getting the win.”