Grand Final - Panthers vs Rabbitohs: Sunday 3rd October 7:30pm @Suncorp Stadium

[The Silverdale Phantom]

BREAKING NEWS:
Late change to Panthers side for grand final in 2021:

1. D. Edwards
2. S. crichton
3. P. Momirovski
4. M. Burton
5. B. To’o
6. J. Luiai
7. N. Cleary
8. M. Leota
9. A. Koroisau
10. J. Fisher-Harris
11. V. Kikau
12. K. Capewell
13. I. Yeo
14. H. Knowles
15. G. Atkins

16. T. May
17. S. Sorensen
18. S. Leniu
19. L. Martin
Penrith will field 15 players in the Grand Finalè of 2021 to South Sydney’s traditional 13 as per the rules of bias by the NRL and pretty much every news outlet.
It is unknown whether Wayne Bennett knows this but will most likely be shut down by CEO Andrew Abdo as Penrith are the favourites to win the competition this year so he can suck it.

IF South Sydney do come out on top by the end of the 80 minutes (and less likely 90 minutes) the NRL will re-schedule the Grand Final as a re-match as the favourites from the foot of the mountains didn’t claim victory and Nathan Cleary wasn’t awarded the Clive Churchill medal.
More to come.

How many trainers are they playing this week?

 

[forby]

Gosh you blokes are pathetic!

 

[Ikonic]

Gosh you blokes are pathetic!

Heard that before

got any others??

 

[Goonji]

The Tele is reporting we've made an official complaint to the NRL about their cheating merkin trainer coming onto the field so many times in the Storm game.

Hopefully another suspension and fine is coming

Sounds like Wayne is getting desperate.

 

[Goonji]

Well spotted. Melbourne were simply a fraud of their usual selves and two players normally in poor sides had a lot to do with that: Georgie Jennings and Reimis Smith. Both were terrible and the loss of two key forwards early on certainly scuppered their chances.

Melbourne played as good as we let them.

 

[Morehead St]

How many trainers are they playing this week?

Brilliant. Do you write for Shaun Micallef's MAD AS HELL by any chance. If not, please apply.

 

[southsport]

Melbourne played as good as we let them.

 

[Morehead St]

Sounds like Wayne is getting desperate.

Wayne is his usual smart self. Will Ivan have the courage to bite again? And, if so, will the result be the same embarrassing slap down?

 

[Goonji]

Wayne is his usual smart self. Will Ivan have the courage to bite again? And, if so, will the result be the same embarrassing slap down?

Ivan will focus on the team and the game. Wayne can watch the trainers, the ballboys, the Pantherettes, the butterflies, birds etc. Your mind wanders at his age, hard to focus.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Ivan will focus on the team and the game. Wayne can watch the trainers, the ballboys, the Pantherettes, the butterflies, birds etc. Your mind wanders at his age, hard to focus.

I’d be watching Ivans cheating ways too!

 

[callmack1]

Source Daily Telegraph

South Sydney have reignited their feud with Penrith only days before the grand final by making a formal complaint to the NRL over the amount of time trainer Hayden Knowles spent on the field during the Panthers’ preliminary final win over Melbourne.

News Corp understands that the Rabbitohs sent an email to NRL head of football Graham Annesley on Monday raising their concerns over Knowles’ involvement in the game and asking how head office would respond.

The Rabbitohs told Annesley that they raised the issue in the “interests of ensuring a well fought grand final that is played in both the spirit of our game and within its rule”.

According to Souths, Knowles entered the field 13 times during Penrith’s game against the Storm. Under NRL rules, trainers are restricted to entering the field of player on three occasions in each half to deliver messages to the players when their team has the ball.

Outside that, they can only access the field when a try is scored, during a video referee decision, to facilitate an interchange, during a time out called by the referee and during a drop out.

Annesley was reluctant to discuss the complaint when contacted by News Corp on Tuesday but the email represents a significant escalation in the rivalry between the two sides as they prepare for Sunday night’s decider.

“Both grand final clubs are fully aware of NRL operational rules they are expected to comply with, so I am not going to enter into a public debate about it,” Annesley said.

“Our job as administrators is to make sure both teams get equal opportunity to determine the outcome of the game on their own merits.
“The focus should be solely on the players and we will be doing our best to ensure that happens.”

FROM OUR PARTNERS


Trainer Hayden Knowles came onto the field on the first tackle and stayed on the field for the entire set of Penrith’s attack late in the game.

Knowles was vocal, calling out instructions to players.

Knowles is still in the backline on tackle three as Penrith work it away from their line.

Knowles is still at it on the last tackle, shouting and gesturing as Nathan Cleary kicks downfield with less than a minute to go.

In an email reply to Souths, Annesley told the Rabbitohs that the NRL took the issue of trainer compliance with the rules very seriously.

“As you would be aware, where we form a view that any club has acted in a way contrary to the relevant provisions of the rules, the matter is then addressed directly with the club concerned,” he wrote.

“I can confirm the information you have provided has been reviewed and we will now consider whatever action we believe to be appropriate in the circumstances.”

Revelations of South Sydney’s formal complaint against Penrith will stoke the fires between the two sides, who clashed in the lead-up to their game in the opening week of the finals.

On that occasion, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary prompted a slanging match when he asked the match officials to provide more protection for his son Nathan.

Souths coach Wayne Bennett responded by suggesting Penrith were using illegal blockers to provide another layer of protection to Cleary.

Bennett had the last laugh as Souths upset Penrith and made the Panthers take the long way to the grand final. That included a game against Melbourne and it appears Souths were watching closely given the concerns they have raised with the NRL over Knowles’ involvement on Saturday night.

Knowles is seen on the field behind Penrith’s defensive line just five minutes into the game, after apparently tending to Panthers forward Tevita Panga Jr.

It is understood the Storm had issues with the amount of time Knowles spent on the field and Annesley addressed the matter at his weekly media bri[$%^&*+] on Monday. It later turned out that Souths had also raised the matter with Annesley.

“Can you please let me know at your earliest what process the NRL will follow in responding to the above incidents?” Souths head of football Mark Ellison wrote to the NRL.

“I note that it has been reported that the Penrith Panthers’ blue shirt trainer has an existing warning for breaching the role and responsibilities of a trainer while Penrith as a club currently have an accredited trainer suspended.”

Knowles was sanctioned by the NRL a week ago for his part in the stopping of play in the dying embers of the club’s finals win over Parramatta.

The club was also fined $25,000 over that incident while physic Pete Green was banned from on-field duties for the remainder of the season, meaning he will miss the grand final.

Knowles was sanctioned by the NRL for his part in the stopping of play in the club’s week two finals win over Parramatta.


SOUTHS’ CLAIMS

First Half

5:10: Blue Shirt Trainer enters the field whilst Penrith are defending. The Blue Shirt trainer assists player Pangai to his feet and moves him back into defensive line.

10:01: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field and is on the field at Tackle 5.

14:03: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field.

17:04: Blue Shirt Trainer hands over Card 2 to Interchange Official but this is despite having already been on the field three times prior.

19:16: Blue Shirt Trainer is standing on field whilst team is defending.

26:32: Blue Shirt Trainer leaves interchange bench and enters field with only 4 seconds left on Shot Clock for Drop Out.

39:31: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field from off side position.

Second Half

58:22: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field.

60:20: Blue Shirt enters field to make change but remains on field for two tackles and gives player water before exiting field.

67:35: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field.

73:40: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field.

75:38: Blue Shirt Trainer enters field for fourth time whilst not making change.

77:53: Blue Shirt Trainer leaves interchange area and coaches from sideline during defensive set. Blue Shirt Trainer enters field at end of defensive set and stays out until Tackle 5 of attacking set

Love it. Absolutely love it!! Let the games begin!

 

[Morehead St]

Big games are often decided by how many errors are made V not made – and the capitalisations that result. Last week Manly cruelled themselves and Souths pounced. The same for Penriff against the Storm.
However, for most of the night when Manly were able to string some tackles/phases together, they worried the hell out of Souths right side defence.
A culprit was Graham - yes, him. Graham made some strong hits – when he was able to make contact. Too often he was caught out, with a 12 man Manly twice scoring long range tries by getting around his poor positional play (one from 80 metres out, the other from 70 metres – and at the 73 min mark, a left side out-flanking ruse from 55 metres would have see another if DCE had gathered an infield kick). Each of those three 2nd half raids were caused by Graham not trusting his inside team mate to defend, causing him to stay close-in, thereby creating the space out wider. The same happened in the first half when Turbo was given room by Graham to scoot around him.
In seasons past when on the wing, Graham did the same to rush in to stop a play because he did not trust the cover.
For every tried saved, three were let in.
Paulo also demonstrated that against Manly. He rushed in which gave his opposite a clear run that set up an attack which three tackles later, led to a try. And that try was caused by Paulo again rushing in to give his opposite an untouched welcome to the line.
Rushing in can work when contact is made to stop the ball, but for the majority of times all it does is to force the cover to desperately ran an extra 10 metres to make up for the ground the defending winger has manufactured by leaving his space.
Compounding the weakness of this play, is that defending wingers leave their opposite unmarked oiut of desperation, usually within 10 metres of the line. This makes it virtually impossible to shut down a try since if the cover tackle is made, then it is usually over the try line when it is too late.
If that glaring weakness is not attended to, Penrith with a potent left side attack, will gleefully exploit.
A second fear causing a loss of sleep, is that our most potent attack ploy is outmaneuvering the opposition flanks with Cody Walker using decoys to bamboozle opponents. In the first half Manly crowded him with straight-on pressure – twice forcing him to throw wild passes, and a third time causing him to drop the ball when he attempted to cut inside the defence. If that pressure is successfully repeated Sunday, Souths may be in tears. Yet, Cody showed his class in the second half by standing an extra metre back to give himself that little bit more time to set the outside on attacks. (Not to forget his two opportunists tries from two grubbers, plus his improving kicking game as the match progressed.)

 

[callmack1]

Everything you need to know about NRL Fan Fest: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/09/24/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nrl-grand-final-fan-fest/

‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world’ - Reynolds declares himself a certain starter: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/wo...imself-a-certain-starter-20210927-p58v5l.html

‘Phenomenal’ - How suspended Latrell has helped steer Souths to a Grand Final: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/ph...-souths-to-a-grand-final-20210928-p58vhg.html

‘This kid is an NRL player’ - Taaffe no stranger to late call-ups: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...tranger-to-late-call-ups-20210928-p58vhf.html

Wayne took a gamble offering Benji a lifeline. It’s turned out to be a masterstroke: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...e/news-story/c923691387dc7f12b03661bc85502e68

‘The making of him as a coach’ - The Grand Final win with Souths that saved Bennett’s career: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...l/news-story/95e3e736aec7b5a40483b65245bca93c

Grand Final referee Gerard Sutton weighs in on tense feud between Ivan Cleary and Wayne Bennett: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/grand-...d-sutton/fecb951e-4b6a-4228-9986-5111e6d0f11c

Suncorp Stadium firming as the venue for NRL grand final after latest COVID-19 update: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/grand-...wnsville/55e617bd-7aa7-4552-ae06-ee520ba53b65

 

[murraymob]

Defeating Penrith is hard enough without the added difficulty of having a guy who has potential to be bias in the video box

Score good try’s then the bunker is not in use

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

Ivan will focus on the team and the game. Wayne can watch the trainers, the ballboys, the Pantherettes, the butterflies, birds etc. Your mind wanders at his age, hard to focus.

When older life can be like that.

 

[XXXX Cap]

I have previously read that story about and the 1985 Grand Final between Souths and Wynnum. Whilst it was undoubtedly important for Bennett's career, it is nonsense to consider it a major upset against a superstar team.

Wynnum wasn't nearly as strong in 1985 as they had been in 1984, losing a couple of key forwards from the previous year plus Brian Walsh who was Man of the Match in the 82 and 84 Grand Finals. In addition, Gene Miles suffered a serious knee injury in a trial match at Maclean and didn't play most of the season. He was back for the finals but was seriously underdone.

Wynnum lost four of the last eight regular season matches and had to come through the Knockout Semi. Souths were Minor Premiers and won the Major Semi to go straight through to the Grand Final.

The story about Souths beating Wynnum for the first time that season in the Grand Final is rubbish. They had already thrashed Wynnum 44-6 in Round 16 so they were certainly favourites in the big one.

 

[callmack1]

Paul Kent on the Sattlers

The phone call happened last week when Scott rang his dad and did not tell him that he was recording it for his radio show, nightly on SEN, and it simply appeared a private moment between father and son, but one shared for us all.

Scott grew up around that song.

As a boy he would wake hearing his father singing it at home. As he got older and he woke in the pub where they lived he would look for his father and find him cleaning the bar, singing the song.

It is an echo of his childhood, and now he has it on tape. “It’s nice to have,” Scott says.

“Whether he is here with us for 12 months or 20 years I’ll never know, but at least I’ve got something in the archive that I can always go back to.”

There is a nice symmetry around Sunday’s grand final.

John Sattler created a grand final moment forever in 1970 when, with half a Rabbitoh on his chest, he broke his jaw early in the game against Manly and climbed to his feet and pushed his jaw back into place and took his position again.

He figured out if he bit down on his mouthguard he could keep the jaw in place and so the rest of his game was played through gritted teeth.

And then when full-time sounded and his Rabbitohs teammates lifted him on their shoulders and chaired him from the field, his face now swollen and misshapen

And when they got in the SCG change rooms after that they broke into song, their victory song for after grand finals.

Scott, now 49, was not born at the time. But in 2003 when his own career was nearing its end he ran out for Penrith as heavy underdogs against the Sydney Roosters and, in one of those moments that convinces you somebody is looking over us all, Todd Byrne broke clear down the left wing and it all came down to this and Scott headed across the field and cut him down, saving the game for Penrith.

He found his own grand final moment in that.

And now that their two clubs face each other on Sunday there has been a push in some quarters for the NRL to include John and Scott somewhere in this week’s presentation ceremonies.

Scott is unsure. He respects the sentiment but does not want to push for it, as much as anything else because he is aware it would take some convincing now.

Life has changed significantly for John Sattler in recent years.

He now lives in a retirement village on the Gold Coast, suffering dementia.

There are days he cannot remember his breakfast, what he ate or whether he even had it.

And while it is a retirement home, and he is happy living there, he must be signed in and signed out because nobody is sure how well he is on any particular day.

The dementia has done what only it can do to the best of us, which is strip the confidence from a man who was once a giant.

So much, John Sattler, 79, rarely goes out in public any more.

“He gets really nervous being around crowds now,” Scott says.

Scott believes it would take too great a toll for him to be at Sunday’s grand final even though the game is just an hour up the road.

All those people. So much happening, blitzing his senses.
“He hates being out when the sun is about to go down,” Scott says.

“He frets a little. He just thinks ‘I’ve got to get home before the sun goes down’.”

So it is unlikely to happen, and with it one of the great South Sydney traditions, a song sung only after premiership victories, from a time when the Rabbitohs won with some regularity, will more than likely go unsun

The only other time Scott has heard his father sing the song publicly was at a grand final lunch on the Friday before the 2014 premiership.

He was in better health then and he was on stage being interviewed when, from nowhere, he broke into the song.

Who knows why. The effect, though, was instant and overwhelming.

The old Rabbitohs in the room were soon on their feet, with him, singing along.

“He had the whole room with him,” Scott says. “We’ve got six hefty forwards and seven greasy backs,

“And plenty Souths barrackers, to keep the bludgers back. “When the skin and hair is flying and the slaughter has begun,

“Three cheers for the good old Rabbitohs, for the victory we have won.”

 

[callmack1]

Who Joyce Churchill wants to win the Clive Churchill Medal

The widow of South Sydney Immortal Clive Churchill wants a special Rabbitoh to win the prestigious grand final medal named in her husband’s honour.

Dean Ritchie

September 28, 2021 - 6:19AM

Joyce Churchill will sit down on Sunday night, open a bottle of champagne, and start cheering on a player she reckons South Sydney is “silly to let go’’.

The widow of South Sydney Immortal Clive Churchill wants departing Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reynolds to win the prestigious grand final medal named in her husband’s honour in his last game for the club.

The player-of-the-match award, in its 35th season, was created to honour Churchill, who died in 1985.

Unable to attend Sunday’s game between Souths and Penrith in Brisbane, Joyce, 94, will watch from her Sydney home.

“I can’t go to Queensland, but I’ll be sitting here with a champagne and thinking about who is going to win Clive’s medal, and I would like Adam Reynolds to win it,” Joyce said. “I’ve been watching him play a lot, and I think he’s a great player.

“I love watching him, and I think Souths are silly to let him go. He is such a good kicker. He sometimes reminds me of Eric Simms.

“A lot of footballers are in the news for the wrong reasons, but Adam has a nice family life and he’s a loyal clubman. He is competitive on the field, and he’s never in trouble off the field.

“I think he’s good for the image of rugby league, and I’d like to see Adam Reynolds win Clive’s medal.”

Displaying his pride in Souths’ history, Reynolds last weekend wore special one-off boots featuring small photos of Souths legends George Piggins, John Sattler and John Sutton.

Unbelievably, Clive Churchill – nicknamed The Little Master – played a direct role in nine of Souths’ 21 titles – five as a player, four as coach.

He has always been regarded as South Sydney’s greatest player.

“Clive will be up there at the Pearly Gates watching the game and waiting for me,” Joyce said.

“I will tell him all about the footy, all the news and gossip about Souths. He is looking down, saying, ‘I should be down there with you’.

“I said to (son) Rod that your father has been gone a long time now, but every football season his name comes up everywhere.

“Even the young ones when you go shopping, they talk about ‘Mrs Churchill, Clive and Souths’. It’s unbelievable.”

Joyce nominated several reasons why she thinks Souths will claim victory over grand final favourite Penrith.

“I’m thrilled Souths are in the grand final, I love seeing them there,” she said.

“The way they have been playing over the last three or four weeks, the way they have been tackling, they’ve been great.

“I like Wayne (Bennett), too. He keeps to himself and doesn’t have much to say to the press. He is very quiet, but must be proud of his team.

“I know he’s moving back to Brisbane, but I would love to see him stay with Souths. I think he’s a great coach.

“Most of the Souths side are quite young, so that’s a good thing. Good on Souths, I hope they win, I’d love to see them win. I said to Rod, these boys are going to make the grand final.”

Rod reminded Joyce that last Saturday was the 50th anniversary of Clive coaching South Sydney to the 1971 premiership.

“I was there, of course,” Joyce said.

“We were worried at the time that Elwyn Walters was hurt in the semi-final and he couldn’t play in the grand final.

“Clive said to us that we’ll be right because George Piggins was taking his place.

“George basically won the game for Souths because he was raking the ball back legally in the play-the-ball and getting possession for Souths.

“Bob McCarthy and Ronnie Coote played the best, but George was just about match of the match.

“I also remember ‘Satts’ (John Sattler) with his broken jaw (in the 1970 grand final).”


Souths saviour George Piggins
This is the grand final which proves South Sydney could never die.

Rabbitohs godfather George Piggins – who fought a life-threatening infection in April – says his club’s surge into this season’s NRL grand final made their heroic fight for reinstatement nearly 20 years ago all “worthwhile.”

“It makes me proud to know that we saved this club for all the right reasons, and our efforts have been worthwhile,” Piggins said.

“And it was the ordinary folk – the tens of thousands who marched and raised their voices and donated their money.

“Souths making the grand final is special but winning it would make surviving my recent illness even more worthwhile.”

And in an exclusive pre-grand final interview, Piggins also reveals:

- A thawing in his at-times frosty relationship with Souths co-owner, Russell Crowe.

- Wayne Bennett is the best coach in the NRL.

- A desire for Adam Reynolds to leave Redfern with a premiership despite labelling his departure to Brisbane a “shame.”

- Former Souths champion Kevin Longbottom would be “proud” of his great nephew, Rabbitohs fullback Blake Taaffe.

“As I sat and watched the win over Manly, I couldn’t help thinking about the massive fight by a whole lot of people to get Souths reinstated to the NRL,” said Piggins.

“To me, rugby league, like other team sports, is cyclic. If the criteria which was applied to Souths back then, was applied today, then it might be the Bulldogs or Tigers in the firing line.

“That aside, the reason we all fought so hard to save Souths was because this famous club is a community asset.

“It has always given young blokes from the district, as well as other aspiring footballers from country areas, a chance to make something of themselves. It makes me proud to know we saved this club for all the right reasons, and our efforts have been worthwhile.

“There are many people who made huge sacrifices and contributions to bring Souths to this point – far too many to rattle off. Souths Juniors deserve special mention for how they’ve fostered the game in our district.

“Also, my old board of directors who for so many years helped us survive on the smell of an oily rag. And there were celebrities like Alan Jones, Andrew Denton, Ray Martin, Nick Greiner and others who charged to the cause.

“But mainly it was the ordinary folk – the tens of thousands who marched and raised their voices and donated their money.”

Piggins has watched his club progress to the decider with pride and is now hoping for Souths’ 22nd premiership.

“It was fantastic to watch the Rabbitohs make the grand finals by beating one of our arch rivals Manly,” he said.

“And what made it even better was that we had so many Souths juniors in the team. Adam Reynolds deserves praise. A great Souths junior who plays with skill and courage.

“What a shame to see this bloke leave the club, but hopefully leave with a second grand final victory. And what about the bloke who I reckon is the best coach in the game. Wayne Bennett has done a fantastic job.

“I will also give credit to Russell Crowe and James Packer for bringing Souths to a point where the Red and Green is thriving and the CEO Blake Solly, a lovely bloke who is steering the ship in the right direction.

“I also want to make special mention of the young fullback Blake Taaffe whose ancestry has special meaning to me. His great uncle Kevin Longbottom was a great mate of mine. I played with him, and he was the most underrated player of his era. A great bloke and a great fullback and goal kicker. ‘Lummy’ would be very proud of young Blake. Good luck boys in the grand final.”

Solly added: “Souths wouldn’t be where they are today without the way George led the fightback.

“We’re celebrating that fightback this year throughout the club and, in some ways, what the players are doing on the field this year is a reflection of the courage and tenacity George showed during the fightback.

“It’s only fitting that the club’s highest playing honour – The George Piggins Medal – is named after one of its greatest people.”

Close friend and former Souths media director Norm Lipson, who marched with Piggins, heaped praise on his old mate.

“George Piggins is a true Souths hero,” Lipson said.

“We all know that George and Noelene Piggins mortgaged two properties for more than $3m to save the Rabbitohs and famously took on the NRL and inspired hundreds of thousands of people to back him in a fight he led, and we eventually won.

“I am reminded about the old saying about success having a thousand fathers and failure being an orphan. Yes, George had a lot of help from a lot of people but have no doubt, he was the father of Souths’ success.

“I was there and I know that without him, there would have been no fightback. Souths would have capitulated.

“It was his toughness, stubbornness, principles, courage and leadership which galvanised and rallied the public and motivated tens of thousands of people to twice march up George Street to support the fight.

“If you are ever in the trenches and you can pick only one person to be in there with you - the choice is easy - George Leslie Piggins. He is a bloody great bloke. There should be a statue of the man.”

 

[callmack1]

Souths out to make new memories in NRL Grand Final

This Sunday, South Sydney have a chance to continue a long line of childhood memories which began for Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese on the SCG hill in 1971.

One of my favourite childhood memories is attending rugby league’s 1971 grand final with my mother.

We sat on the Hill at the SCG and watched my beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs beat St George 16-10.

I was eight years old and couldn’t see much at first.

But some South Sydney supporters already well into the process of emptying their eskies noted my situation and hoisted me on to their shoulders for most of the game.

My mum used to laugh as she recounted not seeing much of the match while she watched with trepidation her young son being tossed into the air in celebration any time South Sydney scored.

In the 50 years since, Souths have made the grand final only twice.

This year’s season has also rekindled memories of my time as a director on South Sydney’s board 20 years ago, when we won our battle to have our club readmitted into the NRL.

Our long struggle against exclusion illustrated how rugby league is more than just a sport.

It’s about community.

People barrack for football teams because it gives them a sense of belonging.

Rugby league provides a point of reference to our families, our community and our culture.

Twenty years ago, more than 100,000 people marched in the streets to demand that our team regain our right to play footy.

Their message was that they mattered. Their values mattered. Their shared history mattered and was worthy of respect.

The South Sydney faithful simply refused to abandon a heritage they could trace all the way back to 1908, when we won the very first premiership against Easts.

In 2014, I repeated my childhood grand final journey, this time as a parent, when I took my son Nathan to see Souths defeat Canterbury.

I arrived with childhood memories of Sims, McCarthy and Sattler and left carrying precious shared memories of the new legends of Inglis, Burgess and Reynolds.

Such memories endure. They speak of our connection to those around us.

On Sunday, Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium will be off limits for most true believers of South Sydney and Penrith because of the Covid pandemic.

This will exacerbate their frustration and anger at the Morrison government’s failure to get it right on vaccines and quarantine.

Souths’ fans, as well as the Penrith faithful, who have loyally followed their team since 1967, will be cheering in front of television screens in lounge rooms rather than at the ground or at a party or local club.

But the story will have a new chapter.

It is ironic that the first all-Sydney grand final since Souths’ victory in 2014 will be played in Brisbane.

But the NRL and all the clubs deserve enormous credit for keeping rugby league going during the pandemic.

Players, administrators and sponsors have put the game first.

The sacrifices and pragmatism guaranteed millions of Australians could enjoy the game despite the shutdowns.

As much as we hope for a return to the normality of home and away games next year, we should also be grateful to Queensland for keeping the rugby league flame burning during this difficulttime.

I wish the Panthers good luck on Sunday. They’ve had a great season and have been a credit to their community.

But Souths, in line with our heritage, have shown our customary grit to overcome adversity on our way to the grand final.

When fullback Latrell Mitchell was suspended toward the end of the season, many observers said Souths were finished for 2021.

They underestimated the coaching skill of Wayne Bennett, but more importantly, the courage and spirit that has driven South Sydney for more than a century.

That courage has been personified by the outstanding efforts of Blake Taaffe, a youngster who has played only seven matches in the top grade.

Sunday’s grand final will be different. But for diehard fans in Sydney and around the nation, it is something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Fifty years from now and beyond, people will be still be telling their stories of the day, passing their recollections down the chain of the generations.

There will be new memories to cherish.

There will be new strands added to the enduring ties that hold our community together – through good times and bad.

For the players, it will be their time to shine.

To paraphrase from Russell Crowe’s movie Gladiator: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.’’

Your time is now.

Become legends.

Glory Glory awaits you.

Anthony Albanese is the federal leader of the ALP and a life member and former director and of the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club

 

[callmack1]

From the Sydney Morning Herald,

RABBITOHS’ SPIRIT OF ’55 ALIVE AND KICKING IN THE CLASS OF 2021

Max Presnell

If you consider Greg Inglis, size matters when applied to fullbacks, and yet Blake Taaffe is cut more in the stature of Clive Churchill. Souths youngster Taaffe will be the target for Penrith’s bombs in the grand final on Sunday and is similar in build to the Little Master: 1.75 metres of illusive bone and muscle who would fell a rampaging bull.

Actually, Taaffe is bigger, 1.79 metres tall and weighing 85 kilograms, but few with such limited experience have gone into a key position in a rugby league decider: only seven first-grade games. Still, along with trigger fingers , he promises a vital ingredient – South Sydney spirit.

At times this season, some may have felt those words meant a flagon of red consumed on the Redfern Oval hill, but in fact it’s the devil-may-care , knock-medown-but-you-won’t-stop-me attitude that manifests in pressure situations.

Take Churchill, continuing after breaking his left wrist in a sudden-death play-off in 1955 and kicking the winning goal when the mighty Rabbits went on to take the premiership.

What about John Sattler’s smashed jaw, with six teeth dislodged, in the 1970 grand final triumph? He still refused to go down. That was followed by the broken cheekbone of Sam Burgess in the first tackle of the victorious 2014 grand final . Sure, Burgess is a Pom but it confirms what putting on myrtle and green does.

It was never more evident than when George Piggins went onto the field looking for a brick wall to charge through, and when he took on even more demanding opposition off the field to get Souths back into the competition.

By all means dip your lid to Russell Crowe and the big bucks of James Packer but South Sydney are in action on Sunday because of Piggins, a memory to behold by this Redfern Oval Rabbitoh, a term given to those who saw Churchill and the greats that surrounded and followed him.

No doubt rugby league has changed considerably but topliners of any era would adapt. This is how I see Sunday’s line-up compared with the remarkables witnessed since 1955. Fullbacks: Churchill and Inglis. (Give us your best, Blake. That’s all we can ask.) Wingers: Ian Moir, Michael Cleary, Terry Fahey and Nathan Merritt, so good when his team was close to the bottom of the table. (Alex Johnston is up with them while Jaxson Paulo is a work in progress but goes better in reverse than any other South Sydney flank man.) Centres: Martin Gallagher, Ray Brannigan, and Ziggy Niszczot. (In his first couple of seasons, I doubted Dane Gagai but since he moved to the centres he’s up to top three. So, too, is Campbell Graham, on an upward spiral but outstanding.) Five-eighth : Greg Hawick, Jim Lisle and Neil Baker, our best tactical kicker. (Always figured Cody Walker was very good if possibly a little fragile but his instincts and speed off the mark put him in the elite.) Halfbacks: Col Donohoe, Bob Grant, Craig ‘‘ Tugger’ ’ Coleman. (Not only is Adam Reynolds our greatest goal-kicker , as accurate as Eric Simms but with more distance, he’s also up with the best in this position. Win or lose on Sunday, Reynolds has been a South Sydney great.) Lock forward: Les Cowie, Ron Coote, Rocky Laurie. (Coote was a rugby league champion and Cameron Murray is rising to great heights.) Second-rowers : Jack Rayner, Bob McCarthy and Sattler. How can I leave out Gary Stevens, Paul Sait and Bob Moses? (Jai Arrow is very good and Jaydn Su’A departing. Keaon Koloamatangi is a powerhouse and if he takes the ball on the burst like McCarthy, instead of doing his war jig before cutting loose, Penrith are in for a torrid time.) Props: Denis Donoghue, John O’Neill , Les Davidson. (Tevita Tatola and Mark Nicholls, who reminds me of Jim Richards, a prop in Rayner’s team, are strong enough but the Tom Burgess drive, a family trait than has done so much for Souths, puts boil into the attack.) Hookers: Piggins, Mario Fenech and Issac Luke. We would never have made the 2014 grand final without Luke, who was suspended for the big one. (Damien Cook is right up there with them.)

And my advice for Taaffe? If that Penrith giant with the blond thatch breaks clear, think of a Little Master trait: the bigger they were, the harder they fell.