Ashton Ward was injured in the first half of Souths' 40–30 win over the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

South Sydney had a strong win against a classy Dolphins side, with many top-class players having great games after returning from injury.

Alex Johnston scored one try, which puts him only one try short of Ken Irvine’s record for the most tries scored.

The saddest thing for Souths, though, was an injury to classy Gerringong halfback Ashton Ward. It is not a serious injury but will most likely keep him out for 2–3 weeks.

What was interesting about the game was the great performance in the first half by Souths when they led 28–10. The second half was not nearly as good and, with a sustained effort, the Dolphins nearly snatched victory.

Fan forums, for all clubs, are places where dedicated supporters pick through their team’s and individual players’ performances during the latest game. The Warren, a South Sydney forum, is no exception.

The one consistent comment that came through in the postmortem comments on the game was about the reason why the first-half performance was so good and the second half less than stellar.

The comment was that Ashton’s injury affected Souths’ structure and flow. Of course, star players stood out, but his injury meant that Souths’ attack in the second half was clunky and disjointed.

All the posters on The Warren agreed that it was very unfortunate that Ward had been injured and are hoping that he can return soon.

All agree that he may or may not be the first-choice half this year, but if he is not, the player who keeps him in Reserve Grade will have to be in top form.

In another match, Gerringong boy Reuben Garrick played for Manly against Canberra. He did kick one conversion, but it was not enough.

He played in a game that was a nightmare for Manly. Despite coming good just before full-time and matching Canberra’s score, Manly were beaten in the worst possible way, losing in golden point.

Let’s hope that Reuben has better luck this week.

Tyran had better luck. He played for Melbourne Storm against Parramatta. He was on the field for 46 minutes and was part of a very big win.

It appears again that Melbourne is going to have a good season, and I’m sure that Tyran will be giving his best before joining a new club.

Parramatta needs to regroup.