Michael Chammas
April 15, 2011
RABBITOHS halfback Chris Sandow has launched a scathing attack on Dragons halves Ben Hornby and Jamie Soward, declaring the pair no threat to South Sydney's hopes of victory on Monday night.
After training at Redfern Oval yesterday, Sandow told the Herald he wasn't fazed by the challenge of taking on the premiership-winning duo.
"Nah mate, it's pretty much their edges that worry us," Sandow said. "Soward and Hornby don't worry us that much."
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Sandow's slamming of the Dragons duo is sure to rile the premiers when they clash with South Sydney at ANZ Stadium. Already perceived by many as a weak link in the Rabbitohs defensive line, Sandow is expected to have plenty of traffic directed his way after his latest comments.
The last time the Dragons played Souths, in round 26 last year, Ben Creagh ran riot down Sandow's edge, crossing for three tries in the opening 40 minutes.
The 22-year-old believes if his side can shut down the Dragons' wide-running forwards, they can upset the title holders and get their season back on track.
"It's their boys out wide [that are the biggest threat]," he said. "If we can contain those guys, I think we've got a big chance."
St George Illawarra reaped the benefits of giving quality early ball to Mark Gasnier against the Bulldogs last week. Gasnier ran for a season-high 182 metres at the SCG, the most since making his return to the NRL midway through last year.
The 29-year-old lines up against Australian and Queensland centre Greg Inglis on Monday, and Sandow is planning to take a leaf out of the Dragons' book to ensure the Rabbitohs get the most out of GI. "We would like to give Greggy more ball," he said. "He's a gamebreaker … you've got to give those fellows the ball early. We just play freestyle footy. We play what we see out there on the line, and go from there.''
Sandow's teammate Nathan Merritt, meanwhile, doesn't want to be the player that allows Brett Morris to break his try-scoring drought. The Dragons flyer hasn't scored since round 26 last season, coincidentally against the Rabbitohs at Jubilee Oval, taking his tally to eight matches without a four-pointer.
It's the longest dry spell in Morris' 91-game career, surpassing his previous five-game cold streak in 2006. Merritt, who needs one try to surpass Harold Horder (460 points) and move into sixth on the all-time Rabbitohs points scorers list, is confident he can extend Morris's run to nine consecutive matches. "He's probably due," Merritt said. "But he'll get it next week, not this week."
But Merritt insisted he would be on red alert, especially when Darius Boyd chimes into the back line. "You pretty much know wherever Darius is, it's where the ball is going to be so we need to keep our eyes open and follow where Darius is going,'' he said.
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