Matty Johns: Bunnies cannot make grand final in cruise control
The Rabbitohs have been masters of quick ascendancy against a lot of their rivals this season and then just strolling to the line. But Matty Johns asks will that style hold up come finals?
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Some of Souths Sydney’s recent performances have resembled a nice Sunday drive … I write that with both praise and criticism.
Since Latrell Mitchell’s returned, the Bunnies have suddenly found confidence and they’ve found their successful formula.
Cam Murray’s quick feet and intelligence in the middle part of sets which then gives Latrell, Damien Cook and Cody Walker time, space and opportunity on tackles four, five and six.
Souths have their favourite set sequence which ends in a string of pass options blocks to the left, but the real damage is caused when they simply get on a roll and centralise their attack with short passes and fast feet rather than pushing possession toward the sidelines.
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When the Bunnies’ intensity is high they look every bit capable of winning this competition.
But they’re getting into dangerous territory. They’re toying with their opposition too often.
They’re like the boxer who knows, after the opening exchanges, that he has his opponent’s measure, but carries him 10 rounds just because he can.
The Bunnies take control of a match and from there only look for the accelerator when they need to.
I’ve been blown away by Latrell’s performances and his all-round demeanour since returning from the United States. He’s a player who plays best when relaxed, but that doesn’t mean others should follow suit.
A few performances come to mind. The Bunnies fooled around with the Knights, they started slow, got themselves in front and then cruised to the siren in a night devoid of defensive attitude, 40-28.
Against the Dogs they found themselves down 28-22 with ten to go, and it was then that they hit go and scored two tries inside five minutes to win 36-28.
In their strong 24-12 victory over Melbourne there was a definite lift in attitude, they led 10-6 at halftime, shortly after got to 24-6, and controlled the rest of the match comfortably.
The thing with intensity and composure under pressure is that it’s not something you simply reach for when you need it, it needs to be practised. It’s like a muscle, it needs to be exercised often, or bit by bit it disappears.
That principle showed itself in their loss to the Sharks.
In Golden Point the Bunnies had numerous opportunities to win the game but just couldn’t find the composure. I thought it was a valuable lesson learned.
Last Sunday afternoon against the Warriors, on a dry, fast surface I expected a big statement from Souths, and in the first half they delivered it.
The intent was there, as was their successful blueprint. They led 24-0 after only twenty minutes, and 36-6 at halftime. I thought a 70 point score was coming. But in the second half the intensity totally disappeared.
I get that the game was already won and all that, but this is bad practice.
In the second half the cameras captured the Bunnies coaches’ box laughing, and clearly enjoying themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that, I love coaches showing emotions in different forms but I see it as a representation of where Souths are at.
Souths are a brilliant attacking team but they’re putting too much trust in their talent.
Players like Latrell Mitchell are the icing on the cake. When you start to rely too much on their talents, you’re in trouble.
Souths to me look like a team in a comfort zone, and they need to surge out of it fast.
Friday night is a hugely important game for both Souths and Parramatta, both fighting for a top 4 spot.
Parramatta have been so impressive in the last two weeks. Their victory over Manly at 4 Pines Park was a beauty and they did it without their most crucial player Mitchell Moses. Souths have had the wood on Parramatta over the last few seasons. Parramatta’s rushing outside-in style edge defence really suits the Souths sweep option shapes.
The Eels can’t rush in blindly as they often do, otherwise the Bunnies will peel them short all night.
Friday night I’m going for a Souths victory on the back of the rise and rise of Latrell, but I want to see the Bunnies pour as much energy into their defence as they do their attack.
Bunnies recruit comes clean on ‘accidental’ Arrow punch
– Fatima Kdouh
Daniel Suluka-Fifita jokes his first encounter with new South Sydney teammate Jai Arrow at Redfern went down exactly the way it was expected.
“When I came here that first week, he was actually still in Origin camp. But then when he came back to training here the following week we actually had a fight, yeah we had a fight,” Suluka-Fifita laughed.
But the reality could not be further, or more tame, than the truth. Instead, the introduction came through an exchange of niceties on social media.
Last year, the former Roosters forward made headlines for punching Arrow in the back of the head during a fiery encounter between the rival outfits.
The lead-up had been dominated by talk of Roosters players ready to take revenge on Arrow for the way he rag-dolled a concussed James Tedesco in the decider of the 2020 State of Origin series.
“Nah, no fight, no fight … nothing like that happened,” Suluka-Fifita said. “He actually messaged me on Instagram when I first signed because he was away with the Maroons.
“That was actually the first time I had spoken to him since that game.
“Jai just said, ‘welcome to the club, it’s good that you’re here’.
“That smoothed everything over I think. But there was no bad blood between us, we know things get heated but then you move on.”
When Arrow finally lobbed at Redfern after completing Origin duties, the Rabbitohs forwards ventured to a local cafe to get to know their new pack mate after Suluka-Fifita made a mid-season switch to South Sydney.
There, the Matraville junior had the awkward task of explaining how he “accidentally” punched Arrow in the back of the head.
“I knew it was him, I knew it was Jai Arrow, the one everyone had been talking about,” Suluka-Fifita said. “I honestly just thought I was going to slap him but I didn’t realise my fist was closed and I accidentally punched him.”
While the duo have long put the encounter behind them, teammates haven’t been so quick to let them forget.
South Sydney players have now taken to threatening Arrow with Suluka-Fifita when the Queensland forward, who is known for his cheeky persona, gets too rowdy at training.
“Whenever Jai gets a bit cheeky and that, the boys tease him and say to him, ‘tone it down before we get Daniel to punch you in the head again’,” Suluka-Fifita laughed.
Suluka-Fifita was sin-binned for the punch on Arrow and publicly drew the ire of Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
Privately, the coach was glad to see Suluka-Fifita was willing to stick up for a teammate.
“He was OK about it but at the same time he wasn’t OK with it,” Suluka-Fifita said.
“He liked that I went after him but he told me there are other ways to go after him … like running hard at him or smashing him in a tackle. Whereas, I had done it the complete opposite way.”
SOUTHS ROOKIE REVEALS REYNO’S ADVICE AFTER BRUTAL HOOK
As Brisbane emerged as a dark horse in 2022, the ghost of former South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds threatened to haunt the Rabbitohs.
But the ghost of the now Broncos maestro could turn out to be a saviour for Lachlan Ilias.
Speaking for the first time since being mercilessly hooked in Round 15, the 22-year-old has revealed Reynolds has been there to support him through a tumultuous rookie season.
“Reyno has been really supportive this whole season,” Ilias said. “Through the ups and downs, Reyno is Reyno … he is a really good bloke. He’s experienced it all. He made sure I was OK and said to stay positive.
“I was really close to him last year and we still message each other all the time.
“If something happens good or bad he is there with messages of support.
“Obviously in previous seasons I spent a lot of time learning from him and this season he has been really good to me. He is massive in my development.”
Ilias was tasked with the job of stepping into the halfback role this season after Reynolds, who helped the Rabbitohs to a title in 2014, rejected a one-year extension to stay at Redfern.
But on top of being hooked after 29 minutes against St George Illawarra – when the Dragons ran in six tries – Ilias has had to deal with the ‘outside noise’ suggesting the Rabbitohs were wrong to fast-track his NRL career at the expense of Reynolds.
The constant chatter was enough for Ilias to turn off the news.
“I don’t read that stuff anymore, I don’t watch the sport section of the news … or at least I try hard not to … no newspapers, no news articles, nothing,” Ilias said.
“I listen to the people I need to listen to, that’s my family and my friends and this club.
“Those are the people important to me in terms of footy. Everything else is just external noise trying to put you off. You don’t need to hear that.”
Sitting on the pine in round 15, only 14 games into his NRL career, had Ilias fearing for his immediate playing future under coach Jason Demetriou.
“There was a bit of the unknown, wondering what it means … and thinking about what the chat with the coach might be like to see where he is at and where I’m at in the team,” Ilias said. “We’ve both bounced back from that now. There has been a lot of articles of people talking about it.”
Demetriou maintains the decision was made to illicit a response from his badly beaten team at the time not to punish the youngster.
“But I didn’t want to feel like the victim in that situation,” Ilias said. “It was hard at the time and I had a sit down with JD a couple of days after the game. It was a positive chat.
“Ever since then I have been positive and changed my mindset.
“I’m hungrier now than I was before. It was probably the kick up the backside I needed. I’m loving my footy at the moment.”
Ilias was on light duties during training on Tuesday morning but the halfback is confident a niggling back injury will not stop him from taking the field against Parramatta.
For the Rabbitohs, a win is more than a chance to cement a top eight spot but opportunity to build momentum into the finals series.
“I don’t want to say we are peaking because I always think we can get better but we definitely moving in the right direction,” Ilias said. “We had a good win against the Warriors but doesn’t mean anything if we can’t back it up against Parramatta.
“There’s a good feeling and connection at the moment, everyone is one the same page.”
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