Defiant Sam Burgess ready to put aside personal drama to terrorise Roosters
SAM Burgess faced his personal turmoil in a highly charged press conference at Redfern Oval on Tuesday and the Rabbitohs enforcer left no doubt he will pour all his focus into Saturday night’s preliminary final against the Roosters.
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SAM Burgess tried his best to push aside his inner turmoil on Tuesday, declaring simply: “I will be fine come game time.”
In a highly charged press conference at Redfern Oval, Burgess spoke about the sexting scandal which has engulfed his life and how rugby league will help drag him through the mess.
The message was clear from Burgess: I won’t be broken.
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Burgess will throw his entire focus into Saturday night’s preliminary final against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
The Rabbitohs enforcer went through a range of emotions during a difficult 12-minute press conference which was watched by dozens of Souths fans.
One yelled: “Be strong, Sam”.
Another screamed: “He can’t get any stronger”.
While saying little about the off-field drama, Burgess said he would be galvanised on the field through the support of teammates and family.
“I will be fine come game time,” Burgess said. “Football has been my life for a long time. I get on the field and I play football. Whilst I am out there, my mind is just thinking about football, which is a good thing.
“For me, that’s why it is easier to go through this process. Football has always been great for me. I have a great team around me, great people that have helped me through. We all have challenges at times but we get through them.
“My teammates have been fantastic. Two of my brothers are in the team. It has brought us certainly close together.
“We are all standing here talking about something when we really should be focusing on the game coming up in a few days’ time which we’re all looking forward to as a group of players.
“We have trained extremely well today and it’s going to be a huge crowd. The Roosters-Rabbitohs rivalry is fantastic. This time of the year, the sun is shining again and it’s the best time to be out there training. The atmosphere is good, it’s do-or-die for all teams left in the competition.”
The Rabbitohs suffered a one-point loss to the Storm in the first week of the finals before triumphing by a solitary point against the Dragons on Saturday.
The Roosters have enjoyed a week off after an impressive win over the Sharks.
“They have had the week off and will be fresh and ready to go,” Burgess said. “They were competition favourites early in the year and they’re playing some good football at this time of year.
“We have had two very tight games and I think we will probably be going in as underdogs. They have had time to freshen up. It’s their home stadium.”
Souths superstar Greg Inglis backed Burgess to perform under pressure.
“He was ready last week — he will be ready to play,” Inglis said.
Burgess’ verified social media accounts were used in a sexting drama that triggered a young woman’s complaints.
Souths officials continue to investigate the incident. The club has refused to name the players involved.
“I’m not getting into any detail — there is an NRL investigation going on at the moment. And I am happy for them to get to the truth, I really am,” Burgess said.
“While the inquiry is taking place, we have been told to publicly make no comment. So I’m going to do that. It’s been a tricky few days.”
Souths’ inquiry — in conjunction with the NRL Integrity Unit — may be completed by Thursday.
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