South Sydney players vow to combat teams attempting to slow down their ruck dominance
SOUTH Sydney players have vowed to combat teams’ gang tackling them in attack in a bid to slow down their dominance around the ruck.
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SOUTH Sydney players have vowed to combat the return of the ugly gang tackle tactics by teams desperate to slow down their dominance around the ruck.
Rabbitohs stars told The Saturday Telegraph they won’t allow their attack to be nullified again following last week’s 16-point loss to the Wests Tigers.
Ignoring a league-wide edict from referees boss Bernard Sutton to stop deliberately slowing down the play the ball the Tigers put the brakes on Souths by using multiple players in each tackle including eight four-man tackles during the game.
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It stopped the Bunnies running riot up the middle through speedsters like Damien Cook and Alex Johnston on the back of quick play-the-balls.
Five-eighth Cody Walker confirmed the team had addressed the Tigers’ domination of their ruck and they are determined to avoid a repeat against Parramatta on Saturday.
Walker said the players have agreed the emphasis is on them to stop rival sides from restricting their speed around the ruck.
“That is a big part of our game — quick play the balls — so teams are going to try and slow that down,” Walker said.
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“I just think we can find a little bit extra to maybe gain a penalty or get a quick play the ball.
“We’ve worked on that this week, so that is our focus this weekend.
“It is a little thing, but little things create big things in the game.
“Our first set we had against the Tigers we dropped it on the first play, but we need to build pressure and fatigue into the other team.
“All those things add up.”
Rabbitohs centre Dane Gagai urged his teammates to stick to their game plan that has proven to be so successful all season.
“The Tigers did their homework like every other team and they managed to slow us down, but it is up to us to execute the game plan and make sure we are playing our style of footy,” Gagai said.
“I think fatigue could have played a part in that as well against the Tigers.
“We had a lot of missed tackles and when that happens you spend a lot more time chasing players around and burning energy.
“We’ve got to fix that up for this weekend. The Eels have got a great forward pack and some sharp backs, so we’ve got to make sure we are solid in defence.”
Gagai is expecting a tough challenge against Parramatta despite the fact they are last on the ladder.
The Rabbitohs defeated the Eels in round 15, but the men in blue and gold still managed to score 24 points.
Gagai knows Parramatta can be potent and it’s why he is weary.
“Last time we played them we spoke about how dangerous they are,” he said.
“They manage to get down the field really well last time we played.
“That is something we need to focus on.
“Hayne has come into some form, while the likes of Bevan French, Gutherson, Norman and Moses can create something out of nothing.
“If we focus on ourselves, the rest will flow off the back of that.”
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