Mark “Spud” Carroll reveals the advice he’s giving South Sydney’s resurgent Burgess brothers
“AIM between shoulders.” Former South Sydney hardman Mark Carroll has revealed the words of motivation he has been sending George and Tom Burgess throughout the season.
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“AIM between shoulders.” “Fight for every inch.” “Aim for 15 to 20 carries a game.”
They’re three of the short and sharp text messages from former Rabbitohs hardman Mark “Spud” Carroll helping to drive the Burgess twins’ revival at South Sydney.
Last season Carroll was telling George and Tom Burgess to lose weight, but now he’s texting them words of motivation.
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“If you do all those things, you’re going to be in the top two or three players in the game,” Carroll told The Daily Telegraph.
“A lot of people don’t know I do all that stuff. I send them a text now and then just to send them some goals, some objectives and what to achieve in a game from the view of a former front-rower.”
His relationship with the Burgess brothers hit a hurdle last year after Carroll said the twins were “massive humans” and needed to “get down in size” for the modern game.
“I did give them a serve last year, but in some ways it was a bit of advice. Whether they have taken the advice on board … they’re playing so much better, they’re hurting people not only in attack but also in defence,” Carroll said.
The Rabbitohs showed their credentials as title contenders with a 24-10 victory over leaders St George-Illawarra on Sunday.
While Carroll credits new coach Anthony Seibold for their early success, he says the Burgess twins are also behind the Rabbitohs’ resurgence. The brothers are playing with the kind of impact that helped Souths break their 43-year premiership drought in 2014, Carroll said.
“The coach is doing a great job. He’s their structure and attacking play,” he said. “But it’s on the back of not only just Sam but the other two Burgess boys doing their job, which is running from the back fence, running hard and making great metres up the middle.
“They’re massive humans causing great metreage, which allows Sam to play a little bit wider and show his class.
“And then you have a backline that’s probably one of the best in the league. So as I said, it’s a pretty good-looking jigsaw puzzle.”
According to Fox Sports Lab, Tom Burgess made 18 errors in 22 games last year — and he copped plenty of criticism for his ball handling. Carroll says George and Tom were unfairly targeted, in particular by fans, for their on-field discipline last season.
But the Englishman has improved remarkably this year, with just two errors in 10 games.
“Everyone drops the ball; no one is perfect,” Carroll said.
“I think the media were on jumping on board left, right and centre. People read the papers, social media is out of control, it’s just over the top.
“They’re heavily involved with social media so they were copping flack last year.
“This year is a new year. They’ve improved their game immensely and they should be proud of themselves and what they have done.”