Jason Taylor isn’t to blame for Rabbitohs dip

 

Roar Guru

By Alan Nicolea, 5 Jul 2009 Alan Nicolea is a Roar Guru

Tagged:

 Jason Taylor, luke capwell, NRL, Robbie Farah, Rugby League, South Sydney Rabbitohs

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In the aftermath of Saturday night’s 54-20 thrashing at the hands of the Wests Tigers, Rabbitohs coach Jason Taylor looks to be under increasing pressure to keep his head coaching position at a club that has now lost its past five games.

After setting the world on fire with their round one demolition of great rivals the Sydney Roosters, the Rabbitohs have since failed to replicate the form that had many pundits believing the Redfern based club would challenge for the top eight.

Instead, the Rabbitohs now find themselves trying to recover from their biggest loss of the season, at home, against a Tigers outfit which is below them on the NRL ladder.

Prior to their match against the Tigers, South Sydney coach Jason Taylor was reportedly at odds with his players, in the midst of the strong anti-alcohol laws currently enforced at the Redfern club.

This includes the team not drinking alcohol when playing an away game, and also being breath tested when the players come to training.

The reports from the media suggest that most Rabbitohs players feel this is an over the top reaction in a bid to rescue a faltering 2009 season.

Whatever the reason behind the strict alcohol policy, it certainly did not have the desired effect against the Tigers at ANZ stadium.

In front of their home fans, the Rabbitohs were a sombre outfit from start to finish against a brilliant Tigers side that made do with the world class performance of captain Robbie Farah.

The Tigers were very much assisted throughout the match thanks to the Rabbitohs inability to convert pressure into points, not to mention their constant turnovers when in possession.

Although Luke Capwell scored a hat-trick for the Rabbitohs, the performance from his team-mates ensured it would be a match, both he and his club, will hope to forget in a hurry.

No doubt it was a loss that has now placed coach Jason Taylor’s head coaching position under severe threat, despite leading the club to its first finals appearance, since 1989, just two years earlier.

But why should he be made the scapegoat for a horrific performance where its ultimately up to the players to perform to the standard necessary to attain a win.

A coach can only do so much to galvanise his side to play what is in front of them.

Indeed Taylor never coached the Rabbitohs to concede ten tries against a Tigers unit that had been written off as a finals contender.

He never coached the likes of Roy Asotasi, John Sutton, Issac Luke, Chris Sandow and Colin Best to perform so meekly in a game that had a lot riding on it in terms of a potential finals spot.

Had the Rabbitohs defeated the Tigers, they would find themselves just one point outside the top eight, pending the result of the Manly – Bulldogs clash and the Panthers – Eels encounter.

But with a 34 point loss now in their conscience, it seems most Rabbitohs players must now get out of the burrow they have dug themselves in, and accept full responsibility for their actions, and not cast an aura of dissension against a coach that has really given his all for the red and green.