The NZ Warriors have been comfortably dispatched by the South Sydney Rabbitohs 40-12 at Banwest Stadium in Sydney.
While they'll have reason to feel aggrieved by a mixture of some poor officiating and luck, that alone doesn't account for the lopsided scoreline created by the Rabbitohs' clear superiority at both ends of the field.
NZ had no answer for fullback Latrell Mitchell, who wreaked havoc on the edges and combined with halves Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds to conduct Souths' potent backline to devastating effect.
The heavy loss sends the Warriors plummeting back to earth, after the highs of their impressive performance in the win over the North Queensland Cowboys last weekend.
In the seventh minute, David Fusitu'a marked his long-awaited return to the side by running in an easy one in the corner to open the scoring, Green making a savvy play to spot the man and float a well-time pass out wide for his wing.
The Rabbitohs struck back just minutes later, after a slick second-man play freed Campbell Graham to cut through some weak NZ defence to score his side's first try.
In the 25th minute, what looked to be a certain try on the left flank for NZ turned into an interception by Dane Gagai, who was mowed down by the Warriors defence that included a late flop by Kodi Nikorima.
Nikorima was promptly sent to the sin bin and the Rabbitohs immediately cashed in on their extra-man advantage, with Adam Reynolds running in a simple second man play to dot down next to the posts in a significant swing play.
Minutes later, Cody Walker toed a grubber under duress for Braidon Burns to waltz over, ensuring a costly 10-minute period for the shorthanded Warriors.
Soon it was the Rabbitohs' turn to play with a man down, as Walker was sent to the sidelines for repeated penalty infringements.
Fusitu'a looked destined to pull one back for NZ but spilled the ball after a clear shot to the back of the head from Mitchell, which the referees completely missed both live and in replay.
The wing would later fail a head injury assessment, preventing him returning to the game and raising questions about the oversight from the referee and third-match official.
Right on the stroke of halftime, Mitchell conjured some more magic, finding Alex Johnston with a delightful long skip pass for the wing to sprint 20m to put the Rabbitohs up a commanding 22-6 at the break.
The Rabbitohs carried that momentum into the second stanza, with two quick tries in the space of 10 minutes to centurion Cody Walker and Damian Cook extending their advantage to 34-6.
With 10 minutes to play, Cody Walker placed a well-weighted chip that bounced up neatly for Johnston to secure his brace.
Agnatius Paasi burrowed over for a consolation try for the Warriors with minutes remaining.
The Warriors now face the daunting prospect of attempting to get back on track against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday.
Rabbitohs 40 (Campbell Graham, Adam Reynolds, Brandon Burns, 2 Alex Johnston, Cody Walker, Damien Cook, tries; Reynolds 6 goals); Warriors 12 (David Fusitu’a, Agnatius Paasi tries; Kodi Nikorima 2 goals). HT: 22-6
