Robbie Farah no guarantee of South Sydney Rabbitohs No.9 jersey, says Michael Maguire
SOUTH Sydney’s star recruit Robbie Farah’s club debut in the Charity Shield will determine if he starts the NRL season in the No. 9 jersey.
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SOUTH Sydney’s star recruit Robbie Farah’s club debut in the Charity Shield will determine if he starts the NRL season in the No. 9 jersey.
Apart from a minor biceps muscle tear before Christmas, Farah has truly impressed Maguire and his new teammates at Redfern since being released by the Wests Tigers.
Despite being the NSW incumbent hooker, and wearing the No. 9 for the Tigers in 216 of his 247 career games, Farah is no certainty for starting honours.
Damien Cook is also very much a part of the Bunnies plans after extending his deal through to 2019 during the off-season, and has a big fan in Maguire.
Both players will get a final chance to impress Maguire in the February 19 pre-season clash at ANZ Stadium against St George Illawarra. Opposing them will be Cameron McInnes, the former Souths junior who started last season at hooker before he lost his jersey to Cook.
“Robbie is a pro, there’s been a lot of talk about Robbie, but I want his actions to do the talking,’’ Maguire said at Wednesday’s Charity Shield launch.
“I’m fortunate I have two very good No.9s, they’ve been complementing each other, and I think both of them will bring the best out of each other.
“The experience of Robbie in key moments and through training, he’s been able to share that and I’m really looking forward to working with him.
“Robbie is an outstanding trainer. So is ‘Cookie’. How they perform (in the Charity Shield), that’s what I’ll judge off moving forward. How we mix those two and work out which way we go will make for an enjoyable start to the season.’’
Maguire said time would tell if he opted for one hooker to punch out 80 minutes, something Farah, 33, has had no issues doing on the biggest stage.
Greg Inglis was locked in for fullback, while Maguire expected Adam Reynolds to take his game to another level after a solid pre-season.
The halfback pulled up lame in the hamstring this week and will miss the Auckland Nines, where he was to captain the Rabbitohs, as well as the following week’s World All Stars game, but will resume in the Charity Shield.
Inglis praised Farah’s leadership qualities, and said: “He’s come over, he wants to be successful, and that’s all I want from people who come to South Sydney.’’
Originally published as Robbie Farah no guarantee of South Sydney Rabbitohs No.9 jersey, says Michael Maguire
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