Benny and his Bunnies had a win with memberships but there are few fans more loyal than a Bronco

South Sydney can trumpet their membership win over Brisbane as much as they want, but Benny and his Bunnies will fast learn that when things get a bit scary, rabbits tend to scatter.

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It’s illegal to own a rabbit in Queensland unless you’re a scientist or a magician.

And while Wayne Bennett’s most recent tenure in the Sunshine State proved he’s willing to experiment with explosive elements that tend to blow up in his face, his credentials in the lab weren’t nearly enough to win him a bunny licence.

Between that and the fact he was unable to recapture any of the magic that qualified him as a certified wand waver from 1998 to 2008, Benny had no chance of ever owning a rabbit as long as he lived north of the border.

Wayne Bennett might have to get used to performing in front of empty stands should he fail to make a mark with the Rabbitohs early this season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Now he’s inherited almost 30,000 of them.

Sold as an early victory over his now archrival Anthony Seibold in a battle that you’re unlikely to hear the end of any time soon, Bennett and his new mates at South Sydney are trumpeting the fact that they have 27,298 paid-up members already for the 2019 season – about 2000 more than the Broncos at the same point this year.

The New South Wales narrative would have you believe that this is proof of a new era of optimism, that Wayne the Wonderful is going to leap on stage in the middle of ANZ Stadium and pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat as Russell Crowe stalks behind him screaming “are you not entertained!?”

But here’s the thing about bunnies.

While there’s a hell of a lot of them, they rarely gather in tight groups and – most importantly – they scare easily.

The Bunnies play in front of their diehard supporters against the Warriors at ANZ Stadium in 2017. Picture: Mark Kolbe

Sure, they have 27,298 members now. But how many of those will be heading to the ground in Round 3 in the case Souths (realistically) lose their opening two matches to the Roosters and the Dragons?

How many of those will be around if there’s a repeat of 2017, when South Sydney limped into 12th on the table and finished the season with a league-low home attendance average of 10,903?

Rabbits scatter. It’s what they naturally do. It’s why you so often see the Random Souths Guy wandering around aimlessly, wondering how on earth he ended up at a televised darts competition in Manchester, and why he wore his Bunnies supporter gear to the event.

Broncos supporters. Always there, even through the hard times. Picture: Bradley Kanaris

Broncos fans are different. Through thick and thin, through the ups and downs, whether they can financially afford a club membership or not – they’ll be at Suncorp Stadium right throughout the season.

In 2013 – the last time the Broncos missed the finals – the home crowd average was 30,480. And in every year since 2004, the average has been more than 30,000.

It doesn’t take much to keep a Broncos crowd invested and interested.

But Rabbits?

Well he might have moved south of the border, but Benny’s still going to have prove himself as a magician or a super scientist to keep those Bunnies caged.