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Preliminary Final - Rabbitohs vs Sea Eagles: Friday 24th September 7:50pm @Suncorp Stadium

Ikonic

Juniors
Messages
94
Yewwww great game last night!
Super stoked!
Hopefully the boys can smash whoever they get next week and we can win #22 for Wayne, Reyno, Gags, Sua, Burns!!
Maybe Rusty might zoom them and give them a pep talk?? šŸ°šŸ‡ glory glory šŸ’š ā¤ļø
 

BotanyBorn&Bred

Juniors
Messages
1,898
Cameron Murray is Superman, I know Ch9 gave him man-of-the match, but for mine, Damien Cook was the one, he was phenomenal on both sides of the ball, absolutely instrumental in the final result.

If only he had done that previously, we'd have at least another 2 GF appearances, but hey, just like Cody said, we can't change the past, just look to shape the future.
 

BotanyBorn&Bred

Juniors
Messages
1,898
Blake Taafe MUST be a starter next season. 2 phenomenal passes to send AJ over in the corner for 2 tries shows me all I need to know that he should, at the very least, be Gags replacement next season - with a view to transitioning into the halves.

If Andrew Abdo gets us a refund on MILF, I'd be playing Blake next to Cody
 
Messages
15,391
The old fox, resting marquee in the second half and Brisbane bashing to quieten things down.

He said very good things about your club. That was a nice parting gift.

I think his personal life is good with his gorgeous partner. He may be moving back to qld too early. Life in Sydney has treated him well. Got rid of some of that Queenslander in him.

He looks more across his art than at any time in his career.

He seems to get younger with age. Heā€™s so switched onā€¦

Iā€™ve always said he should coach nsw.
 
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callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
What a glorious morning!!!

Rabbitohs book Bennett's 10th Grand Final with Manly rout: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...ok-bennetts-10th-grand-final-with-manly-rout/

Press Conference - Preliminary Final: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...-rabbitohs-v-sea-eagles---finals-week-3-2021/

'Undermined me' - Bennett claims GF spotlight with Broncos takedown: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/09/25...-gf-spotlight-with-stunning-broncos-takedown/

Preliminary Final player ratings - South Sydney Rabbitohs: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/09/24/preliminary-final-player-ratings-south-sydney-rabbitohs/

GLORY, GLORY - Souths march into the GF as Wayne masterminds Manly mauling: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/27d07d70e5732eed005fa94afec8c9df

Dally M contenderā€™s best game of the year as next superstar emerges - Souths Player Ratings: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/d810e3192081752265d2817333e1d379
 

Rabbits20

Immortal
Messages
41,612
When speaking of the champions, one stands above the rest
Of glories old and records proud, when often put
to test
Of fine traditions, history, that others cannot best
They wear the Red and Green

Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
South Sydney marches on
They mauled the Balmain Tigers
Slew the Dragons from St. George
The Seagulls and the Mounties next
Were crushed by mighty force
They humbled Parramatta
And the Berries in due course
They wear the Red and Green
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
South Sydney marches on
They plucked the Western Magpies
Slashed the Newtown bag of blue
The Eastern Suburbs Rooster crowed
And then was conquered too
The greatest name in any game
Within South Sydney grew
They wear the Red and Green
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
Glory, Glory to South Sydney
South Sydney marches on
 
Messages
15,391
Certainly hasnā€™t been anything negative on our home tigers forum about the result.

To be honest, thereā€™s been a bit of a positive rebound and we have been talking about our signings.

That backwards try was pretty good.

I understood what he was doing, just moving forward looking for foes and thence satisfied the coast was cleared and on verbal advice swings about.

It showed great presence of mind, not to panic or throw the ball to a player with a better vision and perspective. It was split second.

The result was the best possible outcome from a rare and somewhat chaotic situation. Kindly dubbed the ā€œ moonwalkā€ but who trains for that?

Also Bennet labelling Cody as one of 2 imminent threat players in the entire comp on an ā€œ everytime he touches the ballā€ basis.

Lol Renno keeping cool about Brisbane at the press conference. Fair enough.

Very hard to bundle up the win in a one thread package.

Job not done Souths, after today the nerves will douse the cheer.

At least storm v smug will be played at gf intensity. I doubt either will break for a period.

Renno would play with a broken leg Iā€™d say!
 
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callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
After watching the replay, here's my full report,

Taaffe: Outstanding once again. Played his role to near perfection. Made that error early on on the end of shape but just as he did in Week 1, he shook it off and ended up having a great game. His positional play was awesome and he defused every kick that came his way. Chimed into the backline really well as he put on some classy plays. The highlights were his beautiful ball to put AJ over for his first, that was fantastic vision and he executed to perfection. He was then the provider for AJ's second right on full time and his quick hands bat on was Latrell-like. Amazing confidence fro a young bloke to pull that off on the big stage. His defence was on song when it needed to be and he was involved in the tackle on Turbo that dislodged the ball in the first half. Could have been a different game if that didn't happen. What's more, he had to step up and goal kick which is huge pressure in a Prelim for a guy who hasn't even played 10 games yet but he handled it well and hit some crackers. It's a crazy situation for Taaffey. I bet he never thought he'd play in a Grand Final in 2021 but here he is!

Johnston: made up for being poor in Week 1 with a good performance last night. Carried the ball really well out of our own end with some tough runs and then made the most of it when he found himself in some space. Looked pretty ellusive. All this added up to 132 meters which is a great effort. Superb finish for both his tries and it could have been a hattrick if his sneaky little play down the shortside in the second half came off. Handled all the kicks that came his way and didn't do too much wrong without the ball.

Gagai: Was great! Big game players stand up in the big games and Gags certainly did that. It wasn't a flashy performance and it would probably go mostly un-noticed but it is certainly noticed and appreciated by me. 165 meters with 4 tackle breaks off plenty of really tough runs. Did plenty of the shit work and this is an area where Gags really stood up last night, I loved his determination. On attack he asked plenty of questions of the Manly defence and it was his little grubber that lead to our opening try. Pretty good defensively with the only negative in that error being his read on the Trbojevic No Try. He made a poor read there but thankfully got away with it. made up for it later though with a great read and a big tackle on DCE to force an error when Manly were looking dangerous. Well done Gags.

Graham: Gagai's centre partner certainly didn't disappoint either! Campbell was one of our best I thought. Just his defence once again was amazing. Chopped and stopped almost everything that came his way. Shut down plenty of dangerous plays. He did have two poor efforts/reads on the two tries that Manly scored at the death but I'll forgive that because he no doubt had one eye on next week which is okay leading into a GF with the Prelim comfortably won. With the ball, Cammy was just as good. Strong hit ups with 98 meters made and he was one of our most dangerous outside backs attacking their line. Went close to scoring a couple of times. Showed some good hands to put Paulo into space at various times and he eventually put him over for a try in the first half through perfect execution. Graham finally got one of his own in the second half with what proved to be a crucial try as he ran that great line into a hole of Benji. He was pumped after that!!

Paulo: Gotta give this guy a massive wrap. For the most part, he was exceptional. Probably got let down a little by two poor defensive reads which cost us tries in the second half but apart from that he was great! Handled everything else that came his way during the game on defence as well as all the kicks he faced. A powerful running game as he made 108 meters and a good finish in that right corner for his first try. He probably had one of the plays of the night though as he took that Reyno bomb in the second half and moon walked his way over. What a play that was!! I was amazed!! It sealed the game for us too and from that point on, I knew we were going to a Grand Final.

Walker: Wow, wow, wow. Previous Finals demons officially wiped away in 2021. What an amazing game he put on last night. In the biggest game we've had in seven years, with his halves partner hampered by an injury, all the pressure on him, he really stepped up and owned it. Cody owned every moment for the full 80 minutes. I'll start with his kicking game; It was exceptional. So proud of how he stepped up and took over from Reyno in that department and it was his kicking game that's a big reason why Turbo was kept quiet. It was the Cody we all know and love wih the ball in his hands too, he was at his creative best. Had a hand in so many of our good plays which either lead to half chances or tries, each time, he had a big hand in it. Scored that opportunistic try to open our account but the real moment came with his second try later on. To get up off the ground, identify the play was on, call the kick from Cookie, chase through and collect it from the grasp of Turbo to score was a champion play. Absolutely amazing!! One of my favourite tries this year! Cody is up there with man of the match for mine. Who said he couldn't stand up in big games?

Reynolds: A big effort to even be on the field and lead us to a Grand Final. I can't comment on his kicking game too much as he was obviously hampered a bit by that injury but the other areas of his game were awesome. He was magic down that right edge a number of times as he constantly had a hand in dangerous plays where he'd take it right to the line, sometimes do that trademark little skip and dummy/double pump to hold up defenders, before delivering a peach of a pass. This lead to a number of dangerous plays and was the direct link for two of our tries down the right. I particularly loved his play for Paulo's first, that was a great ball to put Campbell in some space. He then laid on the second try for Paulo with that testing bomb. It's surreal that he only has one game left in the Red and Green. Let's hope it ends with a fairytale.
 

callmack1

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,611
Nicholls: Not a lot to report on for Nicho but that's not to say he didn't play well. it wasn't one of those exceptional games but he still went well alongside the rest of the forwards. 106 meters, 17 tackles with only 1 missed. He certainly played his part in sending us to the Grand Final.

Cook: This is a guy who has been heavily, heavily critcised for his performances in Prelims the past three years. Plenty of that critcism was justified too I feel. However, he also deserves a huge wrap for the way he played. he shook those monkeys off his back and put in a big game. Took his opportunities to run and he had some really good darts. Picked up 101 meters which is always a good indication that Cookie has had a good game. His service from dummy half was faultless, he didn't do any stupid plays, he didn't go missing and as always, he was one of our more busy players in defence. The big play was that grubber back inside for Cody to score, off the left foot mind you! I still have no idea how he pulled that off, was truely one of the great Finals tries! Well done Damien!!

Tatola: Very, very solid. Charged up the middle on every carry and had a reasonable workload in both his stints. It was clear he was keen to take the game on and he played his hand in getting up and over their forwards. 11 runs for 102 meters, along with many other impressive numbers.

Koloamatangi: Was good. Really good in fact. Nothing flashy but he played his role brilliantly and I loved his contribution. Some really barnstorming runs where he'd carry multiple defenders forward post contact, I lost count of how many times that happened. He proved a threat on that left edge attacking their line as well as he took a few short balls and posed as a decoy many times. can't fault him in defence either. Must be a proud moment for a local junior like him to be heading into his first big dance.

Su'A: Not to be outdone by his second row partner, I thought Jaydn also had a pretty good game. Made the one error in a set after points but that was the only real negative of his night. Was super aggressive with his carries as each one had some real purpose. Cracked the 100 meter mark which is always good. Played his role on the end of shape and did look dangerous a few times. I kind of wish we had more guys running off his shoulder though as there was a number of times he was in a bit of space and had an arm free for an offload. On another note, he didn't do to much wrong in defence.

Murray: Where the hell do I start?? I always think "surely this guy can't impress me anymore than he already does," but Cam just continues to do it!! I'm kind of speechless with his performance last night as he really stood up, lead the way and said "follow me." Quality run after quality run, a lot of those followed by a quick play-the-ball. A massive 195 meters which topped the run meters for us, 5 tackle breaks and 35 tackles with none (yes, none) missed!! The stats only tell half the story though. Incredible stuff from Cam!

Benji: Came on and played his role well. Provided good impact and had some nice touches in a short stint. The most noteable was that try assist. A pefect short ball for Campbell Graham. Well done old fella!! Will be one of the great storylines of Grand Final week as he plays his first decider since 2005 in what will most likely be his last game. I'm not crying, you are!

Host: Can't fault Hosty. Didn't have a huge impact on the game but he did his job and that's all you can really ask for.

Burgess: That's two bloody good Finals games in a row now for him. It'd be hard to top Week 1 but jeez, he still played well. Came on and showed some real intent, great energy and he helped maintain the rage of our starting forwards. Picked up 129 meters which is very good.

Arrow: Like Burgess, probably not as explosive as Week 1 but still great. Can't fault Jai at all. It was clear from the moment he came on he was desperate to make that Grand Final. Some really good carries and bruising defence. Good stuff Jai! Through to the first grand Final of your career!

Man, it's still so surreal to say "we're in the Grand Final." Don't know about everyone else but it still hasn't sunk in yet. To actually know that we're there is an unbelievable feeling!!! So friggin proud of the boys, a really emotional moment in the history of our club. My tears were certainly flowing.

I'll touch more on it next week but I really do think we can do this, no matter who we play!!!

For now, let's just enjoy our first Prelim win in four years and our first Grand Final appearance in seven years!!
 

Steenson123

Juniors
Messages
486
Certainly hasnā€™t been anything negative on our home tigers forum about the result.

To be honest, thereā€™s been a bit of a positive rebound and we have been talking about our signings.

That backwards try was pretty good.

I understood what he was doing, just moving forward looking for foes and thence satisfied the coast was cleared and on verbal advice swings about.

It showed great presence of mind, not to panic or throw the ball to a player with a better vision and perspective. It was split second.

The result was the best possible outcome from a rare and somewhat chaotic situation. Kindly dubbed the ā€œ moonwalkā€ but who trains for that?

Also Bennet labelling Cody as one of 2 imminent threat players in the entire comp on an ā€œ everytime he touches the ballā€ basis.

Lol Renno keeping cool about Brisbane at the press conference. Fair enough.
Alf R has made a huge error going to those no-hopers. It will do him in and prematurely end his stellar career. However we can also blame club management for not re-signing the man for two more. True we have Taaffe emerging and he may well become a great player he's sure heading that way but Ilias I'm not sure. He seems dodgy unlike both Taaffe and Mamezoulos. Taaffe should get to start at #7 next season he has earned it and is probably ready for it.
 

Steenson123

Juniors
Messages
486
Nicholls: Not a lot to report on for Nicho but that's not to say he didn't play well. it wasn't one of those exceptional games but he still went well alongside the rest of the forwards. 106 meters, 17 tackles with only 1 missed. He certainly played his part in sending us to the Grand Final.

Cook: This is a guy who has been heavily, heavily critcised for his performances in Prelims the past three years. Plenty of that critcism was justified too I feel. However, he also deserves a huge wrap for the way he played. he shook those monkeys off his back and put in a big game. Took his opportunities to run and he had some really good darts. Picked up 101 meters which is always a good indication that Cookie has had a good game. His service from dummy half was faultless, he didn't do any stupid plays, he didn't go missing and as always, he was one of our more busy players in defence. The big play was that grubber back inside for Cody to score, off the left foot mind you! I still have no idea how he pulled that off, was truely one of the great Finals tries! Well done Damien!!

Tatola: Very, very solid. Charged up the middle on every carry and had a reasonable workload in both his stints. It was clear he was keen to take the game on and he played his hand in getting up and over their forwards. 11 runs for 102 meters, along with many other impressive numbers.

Koloamatangi: Was good. Really good in fact. Nothing flashy but he played his role brilliantly and I loved his contribution. Some really barnstorming runs where he'd carry multiple defenders forward post contact, I lost count of how many times that happened. He proved a threat on that left edge attacking their line as well as he took a few short balls and posed as a decoy many times. can't fault him in defence either. Must be a proud moment for a local junior like him to be heading into his first big dance.

Su'A: Not to be outdone by his second row partner, I thought Jaydn also had a pretty good game. Made the one error in a set after points but that was the only real negative of his night. Was super aggressive with his carries as each one had some real purpose. Cracked the 100 meter mark which is always good. Played his role on the end of shape and did look dangerous a few times. I kind of wish we had more guys running off his shoulder though as there was a number of times he was in a bit of space and had an arm free for an offload. On another note, he didn't do to much wrong in defence.

Murray: Where the hell do I start?? I always think "surely this guy can't impress me anymore than he already does," but Cam just continues to do it!! I'm kind of speechless with his performance last night as he really stood up, lead the way and said "follow me." Quality run after quality run, a lot of those followed by a quick play-the-ball. A massive 195 meters which topped the run meters for us, 5 tackle breaks and 35 tackles with none (yes, none) missed!! The stats only tell half the story though. Incredible stuff from Cam!

Benji: Came on and played his role well. Provided good impact and had some nice touches in a short stint. The most noteable was that try assist. A pefect short ball for Campbell Graham. Well done old fella!! Will be one of the great storylines of Grand Final week as he plays his first decider since 2005 in what will most likely be his last game. I'm not crying, you are!

Host: Can't fault Hosty. Didn't have a huge impact on the game but he did his job and that's all you can really ask for.

Burgess: That's two bloody good Finals games in a row now for him. It'd be hard to top Week 1 but jeez, he still played well. Came on and showed some real intent, great energy and he helped maintain the rage of our starting forwards. Picked up 129 meters which is very good.

Arrow: Like Burgess, probably not as explosive as Week 1 but still great. Can't fault Jai at all. It was clear from the moment he came on he was desperate to make that Grand Final. Some really good carries and bruising defence. Good stuff Jai! Through to the first grand Final of your career!

Man, it's still so surreal to say "we're in the Grand Final." Don't know about everyone else but it still hasn't sunk in yet. To actually know that we're there is an unbelievable feeling!!! So friggin proud of the boys, a really emotional moment in the history of our club. My tears were certainly flowing.

I'll touch more on it next week but I really do think we can do this, no matter who we play!!!

For now, let's just enjoy our first Prelim win in four years and our first Grand Final appearance in seven years!!
One comment on Tatola. He is turning the rock over far too much and bombed a ceratin score under the sticks after Murray's brilliant offload. Tatola needs to concentrate harder as his turnovers and missed scores may eliminate a title win.
 
Messages
15,391
Alf R has made a huge error going to those no-hopers. It will do him in and prematurely end his stellar career. However we can also blame club management for not re-signing the man for two more. True we have Taaffe emerging and he may well become a great player he's sure heading that way but Ilias I'm not sure. He seems dodgy unlike both Taaffe and Mamezoulos. Taaffe should get to start at #7 next season he has earnestly it and is probably ready for it.
I agree, it was a grave error of judgment to let Renno go.

But heā€™s ok financially and everybody knows heā€™s there for retirement. Chug a few beers.

Also, it is a great opportunity for him to grow personally and have experiences, further leadership. Plus he knows the darkness.

Heā€™s underestimated as a person as opposed to a player. I donā€™t blame him for leaving. I respect him for it. He will see Wayne more often and you can see how close they are.

I think he could be prepping for coaching myself.

But it was a bad decision. He earned his 2 extra years, multiple times over. Very sad.

Renno is very intelligent. The Broncs desperately need his quality. They flew to Sydney, spent a fortune just to meet him. That was good management.

Shows they are getting their heads back together. Donā€™t let @SLRBRONCOS know the Broncs are getting serious again or he will lose his sense of humour!
 
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Rabbits20

Immortal
Messages
41,612
BOTANY ROAD

TAKE ME HOME

TO THE PLACE I BELONG

BACK TO REDFERN

SOUTH SYDNEY

TAKE ME HOME BOTANY ROAD!!!!


(And altogether now clapping and stamping your feet)

BOTANY ROAD

TAAAKKKEEE MMMEEE HHHOOOMMMEEE

TTTOOO THE PPLLLAAACCCEEE

I BEEELLOOONNGGGG

BACK TO TO RREEDDDFFEEERRRNNN

SOUTH SYDNEY

TAKE ME HOME BOTANY ROAD
 
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