Rabbitohs hoping Greg Inglis and John Sutton come to the rescue
BY
ETER KOGOY From: The Australian August 15, 2013 12:00AM
Greg Inglis
Souths superstar Greg Inglis tries his skills with a Sherrin during training at Redfern. The big fullback will provide a new dimension in attack for the Rabbitohs. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: TheAustralian
SOUTH Sydney coach Michael Maguire believes the return from injury of Greg Inglis and John Sutton has restored the team's self-belief for tomorrow night's crunch match against Manly at Gosford.
But Maguire conceded the loss of Sam Burgess to a two-match suspension for the now infamous "squirrel" tackle leaves a big hole to fill in both defence and attack.
"Sam is a quality player and a quality person and he's obviously disappointed in the action," Maguire said. "He's now going to learn a big lesson and (is) focused on making sure of playing to his capabilities. He's also a major part of what we're doing -- it was just an unfortunate incident."
Maguire said the team had done it tough in recent weeks without Inglis and Sutton.
"But that shows the character in this team -- against Melbourne, we showed what we're capable of," he said.
"The season is very much a marathon and it takes total commitment from the entire playing group for a club to be a contender."
With the big names out, South Sydney slipped behind the Sydney Roosters in the race for the minor premiership. "It is great to have those two players back, but right now our focus is to ensure we improve on the effort we put in against Melbourne (last week)," he said.
Any doubts about either Inglis in particular, or Sutton, who will undergo a fitness test today, were quickly put to rest by Maguire yesterday.
"We've done a lot of testing and Greg's ticked off a lot of boxes along the way," he said.
"I thought Greg probably could have played last week, but again, we took the precaution of making sure he's done everything possible to make sure he's ready.
"A player of Greg's capability is always important to any team.
"Bringing Greg back in brings a lot of confidence to the team and also a lot of experience as well.
"He's also a great leader now amongst the boys; we're clearly looking forward to getting him and John (Sutton) back."
South Sydney could have done with both Inglis at the back and Sutton at five-eighth as the Storm crossed for four tries in a 26-8 demolition of the Rabbitohs last week.
Although Sutton has been named at five-eighth opposite Manly's Kieran Foran, Maguire says only a fitness test today on a suspect ankle will determine whether he starts the game, or is used off the bench.
Conversely, the Sea Eagles, who looked to be right at home at Gosford a week ago in a 27-12 win against the Warriors, with Brett Stewart and David Williams each crossing for two tries, will miss a spark in defence with the loss of Anthony Watmough.
In the corresponding game a year ago at Gosford, Inglis and Sutton lifted Souths to a spirited 20-12 win.
"As another game, this is a really important one for us, we want to not only find form, but to continue in the form I know we are capable of playing," Maguire said.
"The last time we met was a great physical match and we're expecting exactly the same."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...me-to-the-rescue/story-e6frg6n6-1226697373268
