Warriors beat Souths, end Perth NRL hoodoo

South Sydney's first NRL game under new coach Anthony Seibold has ended in a 32-20 loss, with the Warriors finally breaking their Perth hoodoo.

Warriors players celebrate after scoring a try

The Warriors have ended their Perth NRL hoodoo impressively with a 32-20 win over South Sydney. (AAP)

The Warriors have ended their Perth hoodoo in impressive fashion with a 32-20 win over South Sydney in their NRL clash at Optus Stadium.

The Warriors entered Saturday's match having lost all nine previous games in Perth.

But they made sure the first rugby league match at Perth's new stadium was one to remember, running in six tries to four in an easy victory.

The Warriors were widely tipped to struggle this year, but they looked dangerous in attack and much fitter than the team who ended last season with nine-consecutive losses.

In contrast, Souths were out of sorts in attack, and missed too many tackles under new coach Anthony Seibold.

And they copped two dubious refereeing decisions in the first half.

The Rabbitohs were left seething in the 32nd minute when Warriors prop Sam Lisone was awarded a try on review despite an apparent obstruction.

The on-field referee initially disallowed the try, deeming Warriors forward Isaiah Papali'i had obstructed Adam Reynolds in the lead-up.

But the try was awarded on review after the video referee deemed Reynolds had already committed to tackling Papali'i, and wouldn't have reached Lisone in any case.

And the Rabbitohs cried foul in the 38th minute when a Robert Jennings try was disallowed because Walker's pass was ruled forward.

A minute later, the Warriors scored their fourth try after a brilliant run from Shaun Johnson opened the door for David Fusitu'a to cross, giving them a 20-10 halftime lead.

"Yeah, big turning point," Seibold said of the disallowed try.

"We had a chance to tie it up - really disappointed.

"But we need to be able to handle that. A couple of things went against us like the try being disallowed and a couple of penalties.

"But unless we improve defensively, particularly that first contact, then we're going to have some more-challenging games."

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney was proud of his players.

Although Kearney said the team hadn't focused on their Perth horror record, he said the opening-round win would give them a big boost.

"The boys would gain a great deal of belief from that," Kearney said.

"They feel good about themselves."

Former Manly five-eighth Blake Green starred in his Warriors debut, helping control the game and proving a perfect foil for halfback Johnson.

Star Rabbitohs veteran Greg Inglis failed to have his usual impact in his first NRL game since injuring his knee in last season's corresponding round.

But importantly, he finished the game unscathed.

A late conversion by Reynolds after Cody Walker's second try means he's just the third Rabbitohs' player to pass 1000 points.


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Source: AAP



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