The NRL‘s all-time leading try-scorer Alex Johnston continues to break new ground after another historic moment in South Sydney’s 30-18 loss to the Cowboys in Townsville on Sunday. Johnston’s second half four-pointer saw him become the first man in 43 years to score at least one try in 10 consecutive games and the first in the NRL era to do it in his first 10 to open the season.
Cronulla centre KL Iro set a new record last season after becoming the first player in the NRL era (since 1998) to score in his first nine games of the season. But Johnston raised the bar again on Sunday, while also becoming the first player since Phil Blake in 1983 to score a try in 10 successive games.
Souths winger Alex Johnston became the first man in the NRL era to score in his first 10 games of the season during Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. Pic: Nine/Getty
(Getty)
It takes Johnston’s record tally to 225 career tries for the Bunnies. And the PNG-bound flyer – who will join the Chiefs in 2028 after one final season at Souths next year – has 15 tries in his opening 10 games this campaign. He returned against the Cowboys after missing the Round 11 loss to the Dolphins with a knee injury.
But Johnston’s latest record-breaking display wasn’t enough to prevent Wayne Bennett’s men crashing to a third loss in four games. And it came after an extremely tough week for the club, with veteran forward Jai Arrow announcing his immediate retirement from the sport after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).
NRL debutant injured in fresh blow for Souths
Bennett’s men were dealt another blow during the game after a cruel setback for NRL debutant, Talanoa Penitani. The 21-year-old is the younger brother of NRLW stars Tiana and Natasha Penitani. And the rookie Souths winger crossed for a try-scoring double in his first game in the top grade, before suffering a hamstring strain while racing towards the tryline to try and complete his hat-trick.
Penitani is now set for a stint on the sidelines in an unfortunate twist to what Bennett described as an impressive NRL debut for the 21-year-old. “I really liked him until he pulled a hamstring halfway down the field when he should have scored a try. He was going really good,” the Rabbitohs coach said after the game.
Souths winger Talanoa Penitani suffered a hamstring injury after scoring two tries on his NRL debut against the Cowboys. Pic: Getty
(Ian Hitchcock via Getty Images)
Bennett said his team’s performance was “very mixed”, which was understandable considering the number of stars missing through injury or Origin duty. “The effort was great but the execution wasn’t,” he said. The veteran mentor also revealed that forward Adam Elliott picked up a syndesmosis injury that’s likely to sideline him for a number of weeks in a further blow to the club.
Johnston’s latest record came after Tom Chester denied him on more than one occasion with try-saving tackles on the veteran flyer. The Cowboys centre, fullback Scott Drinkwater and halfback Jake Clifford were all outstanding for Todd Payten’s side. While veteran middle forwards Jason Taumaolo and Matt Lodge lay the platform with plenty of go-forward to help the Cowboys jump into sixth on the ladder with their eighth win of the season.
“We played direct, we played upstream and we ran hard,” Cowboys coach Payten said after Sunday’s 12-point victory. “When we kick to corners and stay patient the opposition break more often than not.”
with AAP