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What Stewart's signing means for Sutton and Keary

22nd April, 2014
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John Sutton will not face any further punishment for his part in Souths' Arizona incident. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Expert
22nd April, 2014
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He is as Manly as the Eagle that sits on his maroon jersey, but now Manly-Warringah legend Glenn Stewart is on his way across the Harbour Bridge after signing a two-year deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, beginning in 2015.

A loyal servant of the Sea Eagles for 12 long seasons, the Wollongong product has not just been squeezed out of the club he has proudly represented for over a decade but almost banished, with one of the major flaws in the salary cap rearing its ugly head once again.

Many believe loyalty is dead in rugby league but how is loyalty supposed to survive when a player like Stewart isn’t even offered a deal? Manly could do nothing but sheepishly shrug their shoulders because there was simply no room to move in a salary cap that doesn’t reward long serving players such as Stewart.

“I’m really excited about moving onto that next chapter of my career next year and I’m looking forward to the change, and the challenges, that will come with joining the Rabbitohs,” Stewart said in a written statement from Souths.

“I’m glad to have this sorted out early in the season so that I can now concentrate on finishing off the job I need to do for Manly this year.”

But the talented lock’s shift from the Northern Beaches to the Bunnies is only the tip of the iceberg, with brother Brett already publicly stating he would never play against Glenn in the National Rugby League. While Manly could be without both Stewart boys in 2015, there are plenty of positional questions to be asked of Souths now the Clive Churchill Medallist is joining their ranks.

Coach Michael Maguire had earmarked rookie playmaker Luke Keary as the Rabbitohs’ long-term five-eighth, but that plan was put on the backburner when the young half was ruled out with injury for the majority of 2014. John Sutton has moved from lock back into the number 6 role as a result.

Maguire, like most experts, believe Sutton is on borrowed time in the five-eighth role, with Keary already in the middle of a public tug-of-war between Queensland and New South Wales for his State of Origin services, despite only having played a handful of NRL games.

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So what is going to happen at Redfern next season?

Stewart will walk into the team as the number one lock and rightfully so. The Rabbitohs have looked one-dimensional at times and have been desperately looking for offensive options to help out the likes of Adam Reynolds and Issac Luke. With Sutton recently surpassing Bob McCarthy as South Sydney’s longest-serving player, it is hard seeing Maguire putting the club favourite back to the bench, which means Maguire’s vision for Keary is dead in the water.

The most obvious choice is to put Sutton back to five-eighth and play Stewart in 13, where he has won two premierships for the Sea Eagles. Keary would be stuck in rugby league purgatory if Maguire wasn’t so desperate to find that attacking key to go with Reynolds, Luke and Greg Inglis.

Reality is Sutton never was a five-eighth and can’t be manufactured into a hard line-running fringe backrower this late in his career. Perhaps the Rabbitohs will be okay and somehow fit Stewart, Sutton and Keary into the starting 13. But you have to wonder if Maguire doesn’t have a career-defining decision to make in the next pre-season.

In a perfect world all three could co-exist alongside Reynolds, Inglis and Luke without stepping on each other’s toes.

The dynamic of the team however will suggest either a South Sydney cornerstone or the future of the Rabbitohs will be on the outer by the start of season 2015.

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