Rabbitohs Insider - Round 3:
https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2021/03/24/rabbitohs-insider---round-3/
‘They were spitting on me’ - Anasta reveals brutal extent of Souths-Roosters hatred:
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/b6558a6023a772b411791318a2fba9a8
From Sporting News,
Rabbitohs vs Roosters: Steve Mavin’s try-scoring tale of redemption
Steve Mavin will probably always be best remembered for
that finals match against the Raiders in 1987.
That game was the one that saw him make a few early fumbles and
get hooked by coach George Piggins after 20 minutes.
A devastated Mavin walked off the field, out of the Sydney Cricket Ground and headed to the Cauliflower Hotel in Waterloo, where he had a couple of schooners and watched the Bunnies lose 46-12.
But there’s a lesser-known second act to Mavin’s footy career that deserves to be told as well.
Just 19 years old when he was hooked against the Raiders, Mavin thought his career at Souths might already have been done and dusted. Times were different back then. It was before the days of a pat on the back and a “you’ll be right, mate, get em next time.”
Turns out he didn’t have to wait too long for redemption.
The following season, 1988, was a time of change for the Rabbitohs, with the foundation club moving all its home games from Redfern Oval to the recently completed Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park.
Souths trailed late in their first ever game at the ground, in round two against local arch-rivals the Roosters.
Enter, Steve Mavin, who was playing on the right wing that night.
“It was broken play and I think Bronko Djura threw the ball out to me,” Mavin tells
Sporting News of the final few minutes of that match.
“I had Trevor Gillmeister in front of me and he’s a legend, so I always like telling this story.
“He wasn’t overly big, and I was quite big – I was 90 kilos when I was 15 years old.
“One of my big strengths was always the old Kiwi Side Step – just getting low and barging over the top of people.
“That’s what I did to Trev there. I managed to get over him, saw the defence coming across but got down low and scored the try.”
Having been on the end of some harsh treatment just six months earlier against the Raiders, Mavin’s match-winning moment was extra special.
“It was funny, Phil Blake comes over and tries to pick me up but realises I’m too heavy,” he says.
“Mario was ecstatic and he jumped into the pile too. That was a fond memory for me that he was so happy and walking back with his arms in the air.
“He grabbed Tugger – Craig Coleman – and picks him up and put him on his shoulder.
“My end to the ‘87 season was a shocker, and I was lucky to find myself back in the team that year.
“It was a little bit of redemption. Obviously, when you have a shocker and your team gets eliminated, there’s no redemption for that, but that was a good day.
“I went from the shithouse to the penthouse in Mario’s eyes that day.”
Mavin had a better record than most against the Roosters, ending his career at Souths with six matches for four wins and five tries.
That tally includes a two-try outing while playing against the electric Martin ‘Chariots’ Offiah in 1989 too.
Back then, he says, the Rabbitohs-Roosters rivalry existed, but wasn’t as heated as is it these days.
“We used to get up for it, but it wasn’t as intense as it is now. It wasn’t any more intense as when we played the Dragons or Manly,” he said.
“A lot of Roosters fans say Souths supporters have no teeth and we say they’re latte-sippers and they think they're too good for everyone else.
“It’s a stereotype really, but both teams have good supporters from all walks of life.
“I have mates who are Roosters fans and there’s a lot of banter. It’s just a shame they’re Roosters.”
Mavin reckons the rivalry really kicked off after the Super League war and Russell Crowe’s involvement at the Bunnies.
“I think it really developed when the Russell Crowe era came in and the Book of Feuds and it gets talked up a lot more now,” he said.
“The Super League war was probably part of it as well. Souths stayed solid with the ARL and a lot of people have long memories of that.
“There’s a number of reasons, but it’s a healthy rivalry and it’s on again this weekend for sure.”
