It seems no coach wants to admit they face the dreaded prospect of collecting the National Rugby League's wooden spoon.

South Sydney coach Arthur Kitinas said in a Sydney Sunday newspaper article that his side wasn't talking about the wooden spoon.

Funnily enough, Manly coach Des Hasler said exactly the same thing following his team's 26-18 victory over Wests Tigers in an error-riddled match at Brookvale Oval.

The win came against a Tigers outfit down on confidence after they had lost their past three matches going into round 18.

But Kitinas can claim the mantle of upset of the 2004 season as the Rabbitohs - previously the laughing stock of the NRL - downed premiers Penrith 30-6 at Aussie Stadium.

"It's awesome," said Souths halfback Joe Williams, who recently re-signed with the club.

"The club is going forward in general. We got smashed the last couple of weeks but there's plenty of positives that have come out of it.

"Our coach said all week let's not try to outmuscle Penrith or else they'll win, let's just contain them and worry about what we had to do."

The other big upset of round 18 was Parramatta's 26-12 victory over the competition leaders Sydney Roosters at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night.

Centre Luke Burt's three tries in the first half helped the 11th-placed Eels to a 20-6 lead at the break and they dug in deep in the final 40 minutes to seal their first win over Sydney since 2001.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP