Good morning to all my fellow Souths members and fans as we wake up on the most special day of the week. That's right, game day is here, and game day is upon us. Tonight, we face just about the biggest challenge in the game right now in facing the Melbourne Storm in some Thursday night Footy out there on our home turf.
Ironically, I've woken up to some pretty stormy conditions outside today. Awful weather with heavy rain and some thunderstorms. I don't know if that's a good omen or not for this game day.
Well, what do you even say about tonight's game? I don't really know what to say. Tonight is going to be one hell of a tough night. We are seriously up against it. About as up against it as you can possibly get. To be honest, I think a loss is near certain with just a matter of deciding by how much. It really sucks saying stuff like this on a game day because we should be all pumped up, the South Sydney spirit running through us and we should be up for it ready to compete. But it's just not that year in 2024, and it's just not that time.
I think even the most staunch and passionate of supporters like us can admit that in all likelihood, tonight is not going to be pretty. The Storm are first on the ladder and they are there for a reason. There's no doubt about it that they've been the best side all year and have looked near unbeatable at times. They're a juggernaut at the moment. Lead by one of the top three coaches in the game, they have one hell of a side full of quality and rep or potential rep talent in just about every position. They literally have strike everywhere. The main ones to watch out for tonight though will of course be Paps, Anderson (who is playing outstanding at the moment), their halves pairing of Munster and Hughes (which is just about the best pairing in the comp) and Harry Grant of course. That's where most of their strike comes from with, I think, Munster and Hughes being the key. Shutting them down is a must for us tonight but that's easier said than done. On top of all that, they boast one of the best and biggest packs in the game that will steamroll most teams. Kamikamica and NAS are particularly scary. It's a crazy good team that you just know aren't going to give us anything tonight.
The prospect of facing them today is made even scarier by the fact that they are coming off a shock loss last week. That doesn't bode well for us as they'll be extremely fired up and desperate to get back in the winner's circle. Bellamy would have whipped them all week and they're going to come into tonight absolutely ready to unleash and make a big statement.
So, all this equates to what looks like a very tough evening for our team. In all likelihood, if Melbourne just turn up and play maybe 70-80% of their capabilities, they win and win easily. But you know what? That's the funny thing about sport, Rugby League especially, you just never know. At the end of the day, it's just 13 men vs 13 men out there on the field and anything can happen. That's the attitude we have to channel tonight if we are any hope of this not being a thrashing. We're huge outsiders, but that's what Souths often thrive on. To be honest, I don't care what the scoreline is tonight, I just want to see our boys go out there and put some pride in that mighty Red and Green jersey. Channel that South Sydney spirit, and just put in the effort. We're never going to outgun the Storm with all the guys we have out, and with the depleted side we have, but we can somewhat out enthuse them and put in the effort. That's all I want to see tonight. I want to see some fight and no one giving in. Do that, and you never know what might happen.
Cody back is a big in for us. He will lead us in attack and make our strike a little better and more organised, that's got to count for something. We need a big one from him tonight. However, that also means that Cody is going to be heavily targeted, and they'll rush him, so I hope we have a plan B for that. We also need a big one from our pack. I'm calling on them to stand up and not be run over.
It's strange this one. Now that's it's game day, I know this isn't going to be pretty and we won't get close to the Storm, but I kind of feel spirited and I don't know why. I feel really up for this and passionate. Honestly, I don't know why because that feeling will be wiped away pretty quick. But I just feel keen and really up for this. God, I hope the Storm feel the same.
Whatever happens tonight, thrashing or not, I love my team, I love my club, and I am proud to say I'm a Souths member and bleed Red and Green until the day I die.
Let's f**king goooooo Souths!!!!!!
Glory, Glory.
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