Round 23 - Broncos vs Rabbitohs: Friday 23rd August 7:35pm @Suncorp Stadium

Call that attacking footy? Rabbitohs assistant Jason Demetriou sprays Broncos coach Anthony Seibold: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...d/news-story/4716aed8c9cd3e810f4c79d89b446dd3

Oooh this is heating up and really sets the tone for tomorrow night. I love that from JD!

Coaches Media Round 23: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/22/coaches-media-round-23/

Theatre sports - Bennett in his element amid Broncos drama: https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/08/22/theatre-sports-bennett-in-his-element-amid-broncos-drama/

God, I love that fro Wayne, he played that absolutely brilliantly by being the stronger man and giving the media and the Broncos NOTHING. That is exactly the way I wanted him to play it so I stand and applaud. It shows that we are not effected by the comments ant all and that's just the way it should be. We will not be rattled!!!

Also, a couple of articles from Sporting News,

Damien Cook explains why South Sydney are better this year than last year

Anthony Seibold launched an extraordinary counterattack at South Sydney assistant coach Jason Demetriou today, but Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook believes the Bunnies are better now than they were last season.

Demetriou lobbed the first bomb ahead of this weekend's crucial Brisbane-Bunnies showdown at Suncorp Stadium, hitting out at Seibold's coaching during the finals last year.

Seibold, who took Souths to third on the competition ladder before being eliminated by the Roosters in the preliminary final, moved to Brisbane in the off-season.

"Last year in 160 minutes of football under Seibold in the finals, his Souths team managed just one try," Demetriou told the Courier Mail.
Speaking on Thursday, Seibold hit back at Demetriou's coaching credentials.

"I don't even know who Jason is," Seibold said.

"He likes to promote himself.

"He's obviously forgotten a few things and that's probably why he's not a head coach."

Speaking on the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports on Thursday morning, Cook seemed to back up Demetriou's criticism, saying Souths were too one-dimensional on attack in 2018.

"From last year to this year, we've improved on having a plan b option," he said.

"Last year was so left-side dominant.

"And it was working really well for us, but we came up against some teams especially the Roosters at the end of the year, they knew our game plan and they picked us off and we weren't able to build any momentum.

"This year, we've got certain spots on the field that we get to that we work from, but Wayne (Bennett) wants us to keep playing eyes up footy and JD (Demetriou), the assistant coach, he doesn't like set-up plays, so he always wants to make sure we're taking our opportunities every play."

With the left-side attack performing so well during the regular season, Cook says the right side was neglected.

"Last year we were almost a victim of our own success," he explained.

"Because we were so good left side, when things weren't going right for us, we'd go back to that and we never really fixed what we were doing on the other side.

"We had a right side, but we never really took advantage of it. We had some great players on that side.

"Last year was so left side dominant and when it didn't work we went back to those things, but this year, I feel like we've got trust right along the board.

"I think it's very even on both sides, that's where we've improved on last year."


Phil Gould writes off Bunnies' top-four chances

Phil Gould can't see South Sydney being a threat for the premiership and has questioned whether some of their players aren't fully fit.

The Bunnies have lost their last three matches and face a trip to Brisbane to face former coach Anthony Seibold and his Broncos on Friday night.

Last weekend, Seibold had a veiled swipe at the Rabbitohs, suggesting their offensive play hadn't changed much since he'd left.

Several Souths stars hit back earlier this week, with Adam Reynolds, Damien Cook and Cody Walker all disputing the claim.

Though speaking on the Six Tackles With Gus podcast, Gould said he wouldn't be in a hurry to claim responsibility of the Rabbitohs' stuttering attack.

"If I look at the way that South Sydney are going at the moment, I wouldn't be taking ownership of their attack" Gould said.

"If I was Anthony Seibold, I wouldn't be taking responsibiity for that. They're on struggle street at the moment."

Following the trip to Brisbane, they travel to New Zealand to face the Warriors before a final round meeting with the red-hot Roosters.

Currently sitting fifth on the ladder, equal on points with Manly in fourth and the Eels in sixth, Gould thinks injuries may be behind their lacklustre form.

Bennett's side scored just six points in a loss to the Bulldogs at the weekend and Gould says on the recent evidence, Souths will struggle in the run home.

"I can't see them winning another game to be honest," Gould said.

"They are really struggling, that was bad the other night against the Bulldogs.

"You keep thinking, 'well there's going toibe some sort of a reaction here' but there was nothing.


"I kept waiting for it during the game that they would lift and get this done and they just didn't.

"They've obviously got players playing with injury... physically they just can't produce at the moment. They can't give 100 per cent of themselves."

"I'm writing off their top four chances."

 

Rabbitohs update 19-Man squad for Round 23: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/22/rabbitohs-update-19-man-squad-for-round-23/

Oh shit! That makes it very tough now, Sam is a huge blow so my confidence has just taken a bit of a hit!!! We are well and truely up against it now. Still, it's good to let him rest up for the Finals I guess.

 

It's finally that day again..... Game Day!!! Gee I can't wait, it is quite possibly our biggest game of the year so far because we are juast about entering must win territory if we want a shot at the top four. There is no excuses for this, none at all. The boys simply must turn up switched on after everything that has happened this week. If the rivalry with Brisbane as well as having their character questioned doesn't fire them up, nothing will.

Add to that the fact we are playing a really goo side without our best forwards and we are really up against it. The Broncos pack is insane and if we can't match it with them we'll be in some real trouble. The forwards have been getting dominated recently, this is their chance to stand up. This is gonna be very very tough but I'm really hoping it's just the kind of game we need, all it takes is one game to play yourself back into form and that simply must happen tonight!

 

Su'A's sacrifice for Bennett: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/23/suas-sacrifice-for-bennett/

Low blows and secret agendas - These NRL coach ‘feuds’ are playing us all: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...l/news-story/87e6f719646c42819edaa541914a370f

Looks like a backline reshuffle tonight,

NRL Late Mail - Updated squads and team news for Round 23: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...3/news-story/79230dff3fb77bcb883f8ab844d0734d

 

Late Mail - Round 23 vs Broncos: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/23/late-mail-round-23-vs-broncos/

Let's go and get these Broncos!!

 

What a game!! Oh man, what a win!! That was such a good game oh my I loved it!! Well, this was the week we found out what our team was made of after the past few weeks and with the Season pretty much on the line, the boys lifted, like really lifted and they stood up when it really mattered most. I was amazed by the heart and the desire we played with tonight, it was great and that's the real South Sydney I like to see! You could just see it right from the opening set that the boys were up because everything had a purpose, it was so much more direct and there was energy. Heading into the game, I honestly thought we were going to get hammered in the forwards but boy did the pack stand up! Every single on of them.So yea, I'm so proud of the way the boys turned it around after last week. I am obviously not happy with the way we let them back into the game because we really should have gone on with it but still, the boys dug deep and managed to dig up the win.

We made a massive improvement in attack tonight. As I said, you could just see right from the start it was gonna be better. Passes were crisp, movements were slick, the forwards were running hard geez we turned on some special plays tonight. That was all allowed because of the forawards. I am amazed by the packs performance because their pack was far better than ours yet, we held them off, actually won the middle and ended up winning, I don't think that effort can be underestimated. Off the back of the forwards rolling, it all just happened from there and how friggin good were some of the tries we scored tonight?! They were all off the back of the spine that really fired for the first time in a while. Man, they were outstanding! Completion rate was solid too. The attack still needs work as even in that game, we strugled to attack really close to the line but I do think we took big strides tomight and that'll give the boys confidence. A week is a very long time in Rugby League.

I was overall really pleased with the defence too tonight. Again, we just looked full of desire in defence and the boys really worked for each other and played with heart which was great to see. Brisbane threw a lot at us but we turned them away more often than not. What's more, we had twelve men for twenty minutes of that game so it was a massive achievement to hold them out. I thought the line speed, dicipline and just general agression of the defence was better too. Obviously, I was really not happy that we let them back into it because we really should have gone on wih it but didn't . Those tries were caused by piss poor defence from us so that is still a work on but as a while i was pleased with the D.

Doueihi: Aside from his knock on chasing that kick, a poor defensive effort for Fifita's trey and a few pushed passes throughout the game, I thought he was really good. Safe under the high ball, great positional play and he's starting to chime into our attacking movements quite nicely. I really enjoyed his running game tonight, it was great.

Allan: Didn't do much in attack apart from a few good hit ups but it was his defence which really made him shine. Came up with two or three absolutely outstanding tackeds on Oates which saved our arses.

Roberts: Jimmy was pretty solid. You could see he was quite fired as it showed in his performance. There was a lot of purpose to everything he did tonight and he was full of energy. His running game was great, taking the tough runs to help out the forwards but we also saw him in some open space on two occasions and he didn't let anyone down there as he almost set up two tries. Defensively he was okay although it was a bit of a concern to see him rush up out of the line by himself a couple of times, that is something he needs to fix. Also the thing he did to Oates was just stupid and that let his game down a bit. Still a great performance.

Gagai: Gags was very good. Seemed to go looking for the ball more on that left edge and that saw him get through plenty of work through quality hit ups that got our sets started well. He was quite clearly very hungry and that saw him start to rack up the tackle breaks which lead to line breaks later in the game. What a try it was that he scored!! That was simply brilliant!! I thought Gags was quite solid defensively too.

Graham: A bit quiet compared to our other backs but he still did his job. He took his hit ups as required and most of them were really solid runs, his kick returns lincluded where he was able to generate a lot of post-contact meters. Cammy was good in defence along with that left edge too, pulled of an incredible try saver on Darius Boyd. He did make the one error but that was more down to Doueihi forcing the pass.

Walker: What a game from Cody, he really found form in that one!! Like the whole side, you could just tell he was on in those opening moments with some of the touches he was putting on because he looked really confident again like he did at the start of the year. He was on fire tonight and just looked so dangerous everytime he touched the ball, gee it was good to watch. The role he played in our first two tries (one of which he scored himself) was just beautiful, almost perfect!! Defensively he was decent too as he rushed up in defence to shut down O'Sullivan a few times. However, he did have that shocking miss on Gillett for their last try which has disappointing. It's just so good to see Cody playing well again and I hope that game has genuinely played him back into form.

Reynolds: Reyno didn't do anything super special tonight and he wasn't a stand out but I don't think he did too much wrong. He looked much quicker and more slick with his pass distribution while we were attacking and this saw him create some opportunities for his outside men. In terms of his kicking game, he was good in general play but his short kicking game was lacking a little I felt. He didn't do too bad defensively either considering who he was marking. He got isolated a few times so their wasn't much a small guy like him could do but other than that he was fine.

Tatola: Junior was just one of the many forwards who ramped it up tonight. He ran with such aggression in both his stints that he'd literally be dragging guys with him for meters after contact by getting those big legs of his pumping. He was able to bend the line on most occasions and get a uick play-the-ball too. A great game fro Junior.

Cook: Wow, hands down our best tonight. He was absolutely outstanding and that is all because the forwards laid a great platform for him to work his magic. Was certainly his best game since origin tonight as his deadly running game returned in all it's glory and the Broncos just didn't know how to handle it. I think he ran over 150 meters and we've missed that from Cookie. On top of that, he had a hand in some brilliant tries that were just great to watch, not to mention scoring one himself of the back of a stunning run. Not only that but he made about fifty tackles including one of the best try savers you'll see on Oates with minutes to go. That was amazing! What a game from Cook!!

Knight: Didn't Liam step up tonight?! I thought he was brilliant! Firstly, no errors from him which is great and secondly, he was a real forward leader out there as he charged into the line with everything he had on every run. I think he topped the charts for running meters in our side. One of the best games of his career.

Sutton: Sutto was very good tonight. Like the rest of the boys, he looked very hungry and seemed quite happy to take those short balls off Cody all night and with Sutto running hard, that paid dividends. His runnig game was impressive and he seemed to play increased minutes which he deserves.

Su'A: Su'A was the only guy out there tonight I'm kinda disappointed in as I feel he just didn't make the impact he should. Was quite disappointed in his defensive effort on Fifita for the Broncos first try. Plus The whole incident where he was put on report was just dumb.

Murray: It was just the typical brilliant Murray performance. However, there seemed to be a bit of extra 'zip' about his work if that makes sense. he just gave it everything tonight. Every run had a sense of urency to it as he ran hard and then fought to get a quick play-the-ball which suceeded many times. In defence he got through a mountain of work too. Just another great game from Cam.

Nicholls: I'm just gonna come out and say it, that is a career best game from him. I honestly mean that, he was outstanding and provided some real impact when he came on. Mark was in everything!! Run after run (which were all quality), tackle after tackle. For a while ther it seemed like it was always him. Normally he just comes on and does a job but tonight he made a real impact. Easily a career best game.

Sironen: Not too much to say as he didn't get a lot of minutes but he was okay, a few good runs and did a heck of a lot of defensive work in that last ten minutes of the game.

Britt: Again, not an awful lot to say. He came on and did his job.

Amone: Limited minutes as he got injured but he was good while he was on. The Broncos pack really struggled to handle him.

So yea, that is a massive win agaist the odds and I am stoked. It's actually a huge win when you look at their side compared to ours. Back in the top four and hopefully it wasn't just a one off as we could have potentially just played ourselves back into Premiership contention. Continue to play like that and I genuinely think we can be there or there abouts.

Obviously defence still needs work as we let them back into it and execution could have been better but overall, it was just good to see a return to form!!!

I am just so friggin proud of this team! Everyone wrote us off and we come out and put on a performance like that, it's amazing. So proud!!

The best part about it? We bet Seibold.....
​

 

Rabbitohs take bragging rights over Broncos in Suncorp epic: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2...bragging-rights-over-broncos-in-suncorp-epic/

Round 23 Press Conference: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/23/rabbitohs-round-23/

Bennett hails stunning progress of 'unique' Cook: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/24/bennett-hails-stunning-progress-of-unique-coo/

Gallery - Broncos vs Rabbitohs: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2019/08/24/round-23-gallery/