Dragons v Rabbitohs preview
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
http://nrl.com/News/Latest/NewsArticle/tabid/76/NewsId/6513/Default.aspx Prior to last round the chorus was growing and Glory, glory to South Sydney was getting louder and louder.
But a dismal effort against the last-placed Panthers silenced the choir, the drum band and all South Sydney fans.
Despite Russell Crowe professing his affection for the team on national television, plenty of Rabbitohs faithful were wondering where is the love?
It upsets many neutral league fans to see a fairytale appear to be occurring but then be stunted by what was quite simply an unacceptable performance.
We should take nothing away from the Panthers, they were simply too good and deserved their victory but the bottom line is Souths had everything to play for; the Panthers on the other hand are already planning for 2008.
The Rabbitohs now must travel to Wollongong, a place they havent won at for well over a decade against a team they have only beaten once in their history and that was eight years ago!
The Dragons are still holding onto slim finals chances of their own and will be out to get their own fairytale rolling along after beating the Knights at last start.
Nathan Brown has kept the same side from last round something that cant be said for the Rabbitohs.
Shannon Hegartys suspension sees Yileen Gordon come into the centres while young half Eddie Paea is gone and five eighth Ben Rogers has been shifted to lock.
Jeremy Smith and Joe Williams come into the halves, desperate to combine as they did at the very beginning of this season.
Shannon McPherson, Scott Geddes and Daniel Irvine are also gone with Shane Rigon, Luke Stuart and Michael Greenfield coming in.
The Dragons were accused of being dumb in attack last week by their own coach so you can bet they would have been studying hard this week to ensure their test scores have climbed.
Watch out Dragons: Dean Widders has been dropped to the bench and while it might sound silly its a move that could really benefit the Rabbitohs.
Prior to this season with the Bunnies, Widders was known as arguably the best bench weapon in the competition.
His ability to come on when teams were tired, skip to the outside of defenders on the fringes and create all sorts of line breaks and tries was unparalleled.
If he takes the demotion well, he could be just the thing the Rabbitohs need in attack.
Watch out Rabbitohs: Jamie Soward loves the grubber kick and he has been licking his lips at the prospect of taking on the 16th-ranked side in diffusing grubbers.
While Nathan Brown will be lecturing against being kick-happy with the likes of Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper outside of him, you can guarantee at some stage hell try his luck with his probing, grass-finding kicks.
Also look for him to feign to kick before taking the line on himself.
Where it will be won: Assuming both packs of forwards provide a decent platform this game will be decided by the halves.
Joe Williams and Jeremy Smith return for the Bunnies under all sorts of pressure to keep the finals dream alive, while Soward and Mark Gasnier are still trying to come to terms with how each other plays.
Gasnier is easily the pick of the four and gives the Dragons a distinct edge but the Rabbitohs pair has proven earlier this year they can provide enough spark to bring the wins.
Williams will need to ensure his kicking game is on track its a strength of his that could give the Souths side the field position it needs.
The History: Played 11; Dragons 10, Rabbitohs 1. St George Illawarra has it all over the Rabbitohs in their short history, losing only once and that was a one-point loss in 1999.
The Bunnies havent beaten the joint venture side at WIN Stadium in four attempts in fact the last time they took any points away from WIN was a 20-all draw against the Illawarra Steelers in 1994.
Conclusion: Should the Dragons lose this one they can basically kiss their season goodbye, while a South Sydney loss will also severely damage their chances of finals footy as well.
Both will be desperate, which ensures the match should be of a high calibre and well worth watching.
Despite being below the Rabbitohs on the competition ladder the Dragons are every chance of winning this game.
It will come down to which team is hungrier for it.
Match officials: Referee Steve Clark; Sideline Officials Jason Walsh & Steve Lyons; Video ref Phil Cooley.
Televised: Foxsports 3 Live 7.30pm
* Statistics: NRL Stats.
