NRL Finals: Bunnies shake off Sam Burgess drama to emerge as ultimate dark horse
If not for the headlines, you wouldn’t know that Wayne Bennett is facing an off-field crisis, such is the calm the master coach is displaying right now – and it has put his players on the path to finals glory, writes PAUL CRAWLEY.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Rabbitohs boss: ‘Cover-up claim makes me feel sick’
- Bennett: ‘Sam and drugs, I’ve never heard a whisper’
Wayne Bennett cops plenty these days for being too old and too out of touch to keep pace with the younger generation of NRL coaches.
But one thing it seems Bennett hasn’t lost is his touch when it comes to handling crisis, or getting his team up for finals footy.
Two weeks ago Souths looked absolutely no chance of being a threat in this year’s finals series when losing to the battling Bulldogs in the second last round.
But such has been their dramatic turnaround that the Rabbitohs are now shaping up as arguably the next best chance behind minor premiers Penrith and Melbourne following Sunday’s 46-20 hammering of Newcastle.
Will this be the seven-time premiership winning Bennett’s last chance to win that final title? Who knows at this point.
Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals on Kayo. Every game before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
But what he has been able to do is get his team into a position to at least give it a shot after running in an astonishing 106 points in their last two games, that also included a 60-8 flogging of the Sydney Roosters in the final round.
And the football Bennett has Souths playing would be giving Parramatta coach Brad Arthur nightmares in the build up to this Saturday’s clash.
Looking at the tale of two coaches at ANZ Stadium approaching fulltime on Sunday, it was hard to believe Bennett was in charge of the team that had been caught up in the Sam Burgess scandal throughout the week.
Bennett turns 71 on New Year’s Day while Adam O’Brien is just 43, and wasn’t even born when Bennett started his coaching career in Brisbane in the mid-1970s.
Such was the carefree way he sent South Sydney out on Sunday that the players looked too relaxed if anything as they came up with a stack of errors to trail 14-0 after only 11 minutes.
But just when they looked down for the count, they turned the match on its head to finish comfortable eight-tries-to-three winners in a big 46-20 victory.
And while Bennett was resting back in his seat wearing a big smile and laughing his way to the fulltime siren, in the opposite box O’Brien looked to be in a world of pain as he sat with his arms crossed in what appeared an uncomfortable mix of frustration and anger.
During halftime, O’Brien was also caught on Fox League cameras erupting in the change rooms, while Bennett was comfortable and content at his media conference until the subject of Burgess came up in discussion.
But the fact of the matter is that while Bennett bristles at the mere mention of Burgess’ name right now, he would be showing no signs of that when in the presence of his players.
Even on Sunday morning Bennett took a phone call from this correspondent and was happy to talk at length about Saturday’s night’s other NRL games, speaking glowingly about the quality of football on display for the opening weekend of the finals.
And his calmness certainly appears to be rubbing off on his players at the time of the year when it matters the most.
The Cody Walker-inspired left edge will now come up against the confidence-crushed Eels’ right edge, who were torn apart by Melbourne in Saturday’s 36-24 defeat.
And while the clash will be played on Parra’s home ground at Bankwest Stadium, that also will hardly present any great fears for the Rabbitohs – who handed the Eels a 38-0 hiding just over a month ago in round 19.
The way the draw has also lined up, the Rabbitohs are on the same side as the Eels and the Panthers, and therefore won’t be running into the most experienced finals contenders in the Raiders, Roosters or Storm unless they get to the grand final.
The old saying in boxing is that styles make fights and that theory often works in rugby league as well.
Bunnies shake off Burgess drama to emerge as dark horse
— Dean Ritchie
A defiant South Sydney refused to be bludgeoned into premiership oblivion over the Sam Burgess drama with a 46-20 win over Newcastle in an extraordinary sudden-death final at ANZ Stadium.
Fears Rabbitohs players would succumb through four days of horror and harrowing headlines were emphatically dispelled with an eight tries to two win to set-up a huge match with Sydney rivals Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday.
The winner would play Penrith in the preliminary final.
Inspired by a remarkable 75 metre solo try by hooker Damien Cook, South Sydney remains alive and kicking in 2020 while a courageous Newcastle bow out.
Even without injured champion fullback Latrell Mitchell, Souths’ premiership credentials are real and bona fide. Souths have now scored 106 points in their past two games.
And Souths players had to mentally and emotionally push aside unpalatable allegations against Burgess, who voluntarily stood down as Souths assistant coach on Friday, stunning his former team-mates.
It was a copybook way for Souths to hit back after a week of turmoil at Redfern. Souths enjoyed 27 tackle breaks and completed at nearly 80 percent.
Souths prop and Sam’s brother, Tom Burgess, was the player most impacted but toughed it out with 16 runs for 150 metres.
Sam Burgess is at the centre of domestic violence, abusive behaviour and harassment allegations which could have railroaded Souths season. The unsavoury accusations have been denied.
Souths though refused to allow any off-field scandal derail their push for a 22nd title.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett bristled again at media questioning over whether the Burgess headlines affected his side.
“You guys don’t listen, that’s what the problem has always been,” Bennett said. “I said two days ago it had no impact on the team. It wasn’t going to have an impact on the team.
“I’m just telling you, I coach the team, I know what’s going on in the organisation. It was never going to have an impact on the team, common sense will you tell. I’m not going into detail about it. You think about it.”
RELATED NEWS:
Big Rig to Monkey: ‘The rig is looking SEXY’
Burgess bombshell: Mum Julie’s late night rescue after bender
Cult of the Burgess clan: Darkness behind footy’s first family
With an NRL investigation having begun, Souths players were told not to comment publicly about the Burgess allegations.
In 29 degree heat, and before a boisterous crowd of 17,212, Newcastle tired late as Souths became more physically dominant as the match progressed.
Souths started the match as $1.32 favourites but were shocked when behind 14-0 after just 12 minutes. The Rabbitohs then scored 46 unanswered points to remain one of six remaining clubs fighting for premiership glory.
Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston scored two more tries after notching five last week against the Roosters. He is some player.
It was the most points scored in a week of finals footy in rugby league history.
Souths have now scored 106 points in their past two games.
“They (Souths) can score points in bunches,” said Knights coach Adam O’Brien.
All the victorious teams over week one of the finals came from behind to win. Bennett added: “I was sending prayers down at 14-0 in a semi-final. It was the last thing you wanted.”
BRAVE NEWCASTLE
The Knights are finished for 2020 but lost few friends in what was the club’s first finals appearance since 2013 when Danny Buderus was skipper and Bennett was coach.
Newcastle battled away but were eventually outclassed by a Souths side which looked good when playing up-tempo footy through the middle third.
The score blew out late and was probably unfair on the gallant Knights. Newcastle forward Aidan Guerra has now retired, Tyson Frizell will shortly arrive.
MORE NRL:
Key to Sam Burgess case is 17,000km away in England
What’s the Buzz: Melbourne Storm’s $55m bid to buy Brisbane Broncos
“I didn’t think they deserved that score line in terms of their effort. They tried their backsides off,” said O’Brien. “They have done that all year. It’s hard for me because this hurts but I am proud of them.
“We have gone through a lot as a group. There has been a whole lot of stuff going on but we just kept picking ourselves up. It’s hard at the moment, I’m disappointed.”
It was a sad end for a side which, at one point, were top four contenders. Newcastle player Mason Lino was a late omission with Kurt Mann shifting from hooker to five-eighth. Newcastle centre Enari Tuala had an unfortunate match.
During the lead-up to the game, Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce told team-mates to “seize the moment.”
Sadly, they couldn’t.
FIRST HALF MADNESS
It was a strange and mystifying opening half.
Newcastle led 14-0 after just 12 minutes and a boil over was paying $1.04. But, in a flash, momentum changed and Souths posted three tries in nine minutes to level the scores at 14-all.
The Knights scored in the second and eighth minutes before Souths crossed in 16th, 20th and 24th minutes. There were 28 points registered in the first 24 minutes through five tries. Despite scoring three quick tries, Souths were only competing at 60 percent.
Just when the madness settled, Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook cut open the Knights to send Cameron Murray over to give Souths an unlikely 20-14 halftime lead.