SIXES, NOT SEVENS
SOUTH Sydney fans shouldn't get too excited about Brett Finch joining the Rabbitohs next year - unless the club secures a specialist halfback.
Incoming Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire wants to bring Finch to Redfern because the pair have a decade-long association dating to their days in Canberra. It was also Maguire who convinced Finch to join Melbourne in 2009.
The veteran playmaker is being touted as Maguire's "insurance policy" in case Rabbitohs halfback Chris Sandow is not swayed by an 11th-hour telephone campaign from Russell Crowe and joins the Eels next year.
The problem is that Finch is not interested in wearing a No. 7 jersey again, although word from the Old Dart suggests he would prefer to return to Australia.
Finch has told friends he wants to play five-eighth because he enjoys the freedom of not having to be responsible for guiding a team around the park.
That means Souths would have to sign a dominant halfback to complement Finch at five-eighth.
John Sutton, whose re-signing with the club was helped by a long-serving player dispensation, could then move back to lock after mixed results in the halves.
