South Sydney Rabbitohs

The return of Reynolds to Accor Stadium on Thursday night is sure to put bums on seats after the 31-year-old missed the season opener in March due to COVID-19 protocols.

While all eyes will be on the former premiership-winner's comeback to the hallow turf, both sides are coming off victories in round eight and are four wins and four losses each to start the season.

The move to the Broncos has really freshened him up. It can happen with players. He looks like he’s got a little bit of extra responsibility in Brisbane, a few new surroundings and new players ... it’s all adding up to him elevating his game beyond 2021, when the Rabbitohs made the grand final.

I’ve been watching him closely and he is playing on the ball a lot more than he did at Souths, where he had to share playmaking duties with Cody Walker. He’s almost on the ball nearly every play. That’s rare for teams these days because usually the lock does a lot of the first receiving.

Walker scored a try and laid on two others in his milestone match as the Rabbitohs overpowered a Manly side that battled bravely after Karl Lawton was sent off in the ninth minute.

Lawton lifted Souths skipper Cameron Murray above the horizonal and into a dangerous position and seemed resigned to his fate as he walked towards referee Grant Atkins to learn his fate.

The Rabbitohs opted to take the penalty goal for a 2-0 lead but it was the 12-man Sea Eagles who grabbed the game's opening try through Kieran Foran.

The last time they locked horns it was the Rabbitohs ending Manly's 2021 season with a comprehensive 36-16 preliminary final victory but much has changed at Redfern since late September.

The departures of supercoach Wayne Bennett, premiership-winning halfback Adam Reynolds and rep centre Dane Gagai have taken some adjustment and Latrell Mitchell's injury has left them without their most dangerous attacking weapon.

The move of Jackson Hastings to halfback and Luke Brooks to No.6 proved a masterstroke by Michael Maguire and the confidence flowing through those two players is sure to rub off on their team-mates.

CommBank Stadium will feel very comfortable indeed for Wests Tigers after their Easter Monday heroics but they'll need to be at their best defensively to contain a Rabbitohs side brimming with attacking threats.

Cook's triple treat and a double to winger Alex Johnston were the cornerstone of the Rabbitohs' third win of the season.

In the early stages it was the Bulldogs doing all the attacking and they opened the scoring in the 15th minute when halfback Kyle Flanagan delivered a perfectly timed pass over the top for Brent Naden to cross in the right hand corner. The halfback's sideline conversion made it 6-0.

Six minutes later the Bulldogs threatened to extend their lead but Braidon Burns was held up over the line.

The Rabbitohs had beaten the Bulldogs in the 2014 grand final just six months earlier so the Good Friday 2015 game presented Graham and his men with a shot at redemption.

A controversial late penalty goal handed the Rabbitohs an 18-17 win and left the Bulldogs seething and it's fair to say the bad blood between the teams still lingers, as evidenced by last year's fiery clash which ended with Souths winning on the scoreboard but losing Cody Walker and Keaon Koloamatangi to suspension.

The Red V got some momentum during the pre-season trials and carried that into a strong first-up win over the Warriors but losses to Penrith, Cronulla and Parramatta have set them on their heels.

The Rabbitohs pushed the Storm to golden point in round two and then outclassed arch-rivals the Roosters in round three but they were no match for the Panthers in last weekend's grand final rematch.

With star playmaker and co-captain Nathan Cleary playing his first match since last year's grand final after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction and James Fisher-Harris and Liam Martin returning from injury, the premiers got off to a flying start and were never headed.

It was a high quality contest but Penrith's scrambling defence repeatedly denied Souths, with fullback Dylan Edwards involved in a number of try-saving tackles.

Leading 14-0 with 12 minutes to play the Storm conceded three quick tries to see their lead cut to two before a booming two-point field goal from 48 metres out by Latrell Mitchell sent the game to golden point.

Ryan Papenhuyzen then stepped up in the 84th minute to nail the field goal which handed the home side the win.

The Storm got the ball rolling in the 11th minute when Jahrome Hughes shrugged off Damian Cook's tackle and unloaded to Harry Grant who kicked across field for Xavier Coates to leap high and score in the corner.