South Sydney Sam Burgess puts week of drama aside to drive Rabbitohs past Dragons
YOU could have forgiven Sam Burgess for wanting to hide in a cave for a month following this week’s sexting scandal. But the South Sydney star found sanctuary on the rugby league field against St George Illawarra.
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YOU could have forgiven Sam Burgess for wanting to hide in a cave for a month following this week’s sexting scandal.
Even an hour before kick-off there were whispers Burgess might not play.
The negative headlines that followed his alleged involvement in a lewd Facebook live act with another woman put a dent in his reputation.
But at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night, the South Sydney star found sanctuary on the rugby league field against St George Illawarra.
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Burgess copped deafening boos from the Dragons faithful and dropped the ball on his first touch before finding his touch with a solid performance.
The big Englishman ran for 119 metres and made 29 tackles to help Souths claim a thrilling one-point win.
Significantly for Burgess given his rough week, he was able to leave the field with a broad smile on his face.
His beloved Bunnies are through to a preliminary final against archrivals the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
The Souths players were rapt after their remarkable win over the Dragons but Burgess moved quickly to keep their minds on the job ahead in the players’ post-game huddle.
“We’ve won a game today but we’ve not won anything really, there’s still a game in front of us next week so don’t burn too much emotional energy,” Burgess said.
“That was the key message that I wanted to get across. We’ve got to regroup, there’s a long way to go in this competition.
“We handled some pressure, Cameron Murray was great through the back end and made a big play and Adam Reynolds was cool under pressure.
“In my time playing with him he’s great with what he does and he got us the win.
“It was tough out there tonight, it was semi-finals football, it was hard. We were doing a lot of work end to end and they completed highly so it made it hard. We were in the washing machine doing plenty of work but I thought we dug deep we can be better in a lot of areas which is a good thing.
“We’ll rest up, we’ve got plenty of sore bodies, and get ready for next week.”
Souths coach Anthony Seibold praised Burgess’s performance.
“Sam was good,” Seibold said.
“I gave him a little bit of a break there but I thought he was very strong.”
Burgess also embraced fellow Englishman James Graham at full-time. The pair may have been rivals on the night but their respect for each other is high.
Let’s not forget about the brave St George Illawarra.
Paul McGregor’s injury-hit men weren’t supposed to beat Brisbane in the opening week of the finals but they found a way.
And again against Souths, the Dragons found a way to compete until the final seconds despite missing skipper Gareth Widdop due to a shoulder injury.
Back-rower Tariq Sims also limped off in the second half but the men in the famous Red V jumper refused to give in.
In the end, though, it was Burgess and the Bunnies who left ANZ Stadium winners.
The Rabbitohs are preliminary final bound and the Roosters are ready and waiting for their greatest rivals.
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