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Paul Crawley
The Daily Telegraph
August 27, 2012 12:00AM
Greg Inglis looks a happy man at a Rabbitohs training session. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
GREG Inglis stood in the South Sydney dressing sheds last night wearing only his footy shorts and a Premiers '07 tattoo above his heart.
The game's most dangerous weapon was also wearing a smile: the big, booming kind you associate with a man comfortable in his own skin.
This is the thing about Greg Inglis this year - he has never looked happier. Even during his days winning comps with the Storm, he never looked quite like this. Always smiling, relaxed, happy to talk.
At the press conference following yesterday's 38-6 thumping of Parramatta, co-captain Michael Crocker hinted at Inglis's head space - and just how important a happy GI is to Souths' title charge.
"It just makes it so much easier for us to do our job if he is bringing the ball back 20m every carry," Crocker said. "It is just pretty to watch.
"He is loving life. He is really happy off the field and it is a pleasure to see him enjoying his football and playing really well."
Inglis didn't want to elaborate on his personal life.
"It's personal stuff outside of footy and that's the way I'd like to leave it," he said.
He was happy to talk footy. Happy to talk up his best year individually. Happy to talk up Souths snapping their two-game losing streak.
And he was really looking forward to taking on Newcastle on Friday night in the final round before the play-offs. Going on yesterday's form, you'd hate to be Newcastle because Inglis was awesome yesterday.
Magical and terrifying: all the good things he has been this season rolled into one.
Amazing athleticism combined with brute strength. Outstanding speed with exceptional skill.
He scored two tries, threw the final pass for three others and if you missed the moment little Chris Sandow tried to stop him with a shoulder charge, look it up on YouTube.
"You've got to love it, it's Chrissy, you know," Inglis said. "That's the way he plays."
But for Parramatta, that Sandow brain snap in the 44th minute pretty much signalled the end for Parra.
It was 14-6 at that point.
Souths stormed to a 14-0 lead after early tries to Matt King and Inglis before Luke Burt gave the Eels half a hope just before half-time.
But with the game still in the balance, Inglis took charge.
He picked up a rolling ball metres out from his own line before he hit Sandow with the force of a freight train.
Then he won a penalty that piggybacked Souths down the field. From there, he hit Nathan Merritt with a pinpoint cutout pass that sent the flying winger crashing over for the first of his two tries.
In two minutes, Inglis put the Eels to sleep - and issued a warning to every NRL rival.
"He was outstanding," coach Michael Maguire said.
"He probably blew the cobwebs away a little bit last week (in the loss to Cronulla, Inglis's return from a three-match suspension). Greg was disappointed with our performance and he showed that today, along with all our team."
Sure, it wasn't all Inglis in the seven-tries-to-one romp. Halfback Adam Reynolds produced an outstanding kicking game after a couple of so-so efforts, Merritt bagged his double and up front Sam Burgess charged for 173m.
But in the end it all came back to one man - the man.
Crocker was asked if he'd seen Inglis play better?
"In patches, but I don't think consistently," he said.
"Consistently this year he has been outstanding."
Someone sent an email to Radio 2GB that pretty much summed it up perfectly. "Don't Souths know this is a team game?" it read.
"All 12 players should just give it to Inglis."
And can Souths go all the way this year?
"We are up there, there is no doubt about it," Inglis said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...out-killer-smile/story-e6frexqr-1226458494744
The Daily Telegraph
August 27, 2012 12:00AM
Greg Inglis looks a happy man at a Rabbitohs training session. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
GREG Inglis stood in the South Sydney dressing sheds last night wearing only his footy shorts and a Premiers '07 tattoo above his heart.
The game's most dangerous weapon was also wearing a smile: the big, booming kind you associate with a man comfortable in his own skin.
This is the thing about Greg Inglis this year - he has never looked happier. Even during his days winning comps with the Storm, he never looked quite like this. Always smiling, relaxed, happy to talk.
At the press conference following yesterday's 38-6 thumping of Parramatta, co-captain Michael Crocker hinted at Inglis's head space - and just how important a happy GI is to Souths' title charge.
"It just makes it so much easier for us to do our job if he is bringing the ball back 20m every carry," Crocker said. "It is just pretty to watch.
"He is loving life. He is really happy off the field and it is a pleasure to see him enjoying his football and playing really well."
Inglis didn't want to elaborate on his personal life.
"It's personal stuff outside of footy and that's the way I'd like to leave it," he said.
He was happy to talk footy. Happy to talk up his best year individually. Happy to talk up Souths snapping their two-game losing streak.
And he was really looking forward to taking on Newcastle on Friday night in the final round before the play-offs. Going on yesterday's form, you'd hate to be Newcastle because Inglis was awesome yesterday.
Magical and terrifying: all the good things he has been this season rolled into one.
Amazing athleticism combined with brute strength. Outstanding speed with exceptional skill.
He scored two tries, threw the final pass for three others and if you missed the moment little Chris Sandow tried to stop him with a shoulder charge, look it up on YouTube.
"You've got to love it, it's Chrissy, you know," Inglis said. "That's the way he plays."
But for Parramatta, that Sandow brain snap in the 44th minute pretty much signalled the end for Parra.
It was 14-6 at that point.
Souths stormed to a 14-0 lead after early tries to Matt King and Inglis before Luke Burt gave the Eels half a hope just before half-time.
But with the game still in the balance, Inglis took charge.
He picked up a rolling ball metres out from his own line before he hit Sandow with the force of a freight train.
Then he won a penalty that piggybacked Souths down the field. From there, he hit Nathan Merritt with a pinpoint cutout pass that sent the flying winger crashing over for the first of his two tries.
In two minutes, Inglis put the Eels to sleep - and issued a warning to every NRL rival.
"He was outstanding," coach Michael Maguire said.
"He probably blew the cobwebs away a little bit last week (in the loss to Cronulla, Inglis's return from a three-match suspension). Greg was disappointed with our performance and he showed that today, along with all our team."
Sure, it wasn't all Inglis in the seven-tries-to-one romp. Halfback Adam Reynolds produced an outstanding kicking game after a couple of so-so efforts, Merritt bagged his double and up front Sam Burgess charged for 173m.
But in the end it all came back to one man - the man.
Crocker was asked if he'd seen Inglis play better?
"In patches, but I don't think consistently," he said.
"Consistently this year he has been outstanding."
Someone sent an email to Radio 2GB that pretty much summed it up perfectly. "Don't Souths know this is a team game?" it read.
"All 12 players should just give it to Inglis."
And can Souths go all the way this year?
"We are up there, there is no doubt about it," Inglis said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...out-killer-smile/story-e6frexqr-1226458494744
