South Sydney coach Michael Maguire says forward Ben Te’o is very focused on doing right by the Rabbitohs against Cronulla after a tumultuous week in which he was alleged to have punched a Brisbane woman in the face.
Te’o denies the allegations from the women, who suffered a fractured eye socket last month, and defended himself through several hours of questioning by the NRL’s integrity unit on Thursday.
The 26-year-old back-rower has been named in the Rabbitohs side to face Cronulla at Sharks Stadium on Monday.
“He is very focused about making sure that he’s doing the right thing for the team,” Maguire said on Saturday, when questioned about Te’o’s mindset this week.
Asked if it was hard for Souths not to be distracted by the situation Maguire said “We’re aware of it, without a doubt.
“We understand the situation, and we’ve been very, very thorough with the way we’re going about things and the integrity unit is going through their process at the moment.
“But our focus is what we need to do on the field.”
Maguire said he hoped his NSW Origin candidates Nathan Merritt and John Sutton would be part of the Blues squad for the first game, though the team will be known by the time they play Cronulla.
On Monday, Sutton will directly oppose Sharks playmaker Todd Carney, one of the other primary candidates for the Blues No.6 jersey.
“Sutto is pretty focused about just doing what he can control,” Maguire said.
“He’s a different style of player, he’s a big body too, so I think he would probably suit that (Origin) arena.”
Maguire revealed the Rabbitohs weren’t shying away from discussing their red-hot start to the season, with nine wins from ten games rocketing them to the top of the ladder.
“We talk about it,” Maguire said.
“Its very exciting to be a part of the team at the moment, the young kids pushing really, really hard for their opportunity.
“A young kid like Dylan Morgan coming into the team and performing the way he did is creating a lot of good pressures within, which allows us to train the way we are.
“It’s just about making sure your focus is on each week.
“It’s nice to be where we are, but I also understand there’s a long way to go.”
Maguire said the return of representative forwards Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis would add a lot of experience to the Sharks.
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