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Every NRL match is huge, but at this point in the season some matches get even bigger as the race for playoffs and higher positions within are at stake.
There are also some very special occasions; times when those involved feel honoured and privileged to be a part of it all.
Souths versus Manly at the SCG is one of those and Friday night will bring back memories, as well as likely create new ones for everyone who participates, including spectators.
To read more Brian Smith, outside The Roar, check out his website SmithySpeaks.
I was fortunate enough to play there for St George when the ‘match of the round’ was played at the hallowed SCG in the 1970s. Even as a teenager, it was something else just to run out and soak it up.
As a coach too it was fantastic to be a part of, sharing the occasion with experienced and rookie players who also recognised how rare and privileged they were to compete on this world wide sporting theatre.
I remember a match in 1993 where I thought some of our Saints players were never going to rejoin us in those historic dressing rooms after our victory over the Bulldogs. They just wanted and deserved to really recognise the moment, as they ambled around that awesome arena.
I hope all the players respond in similar fashion on Friday night, when these two great footy clubs go head-to-head just at their predecessors did back in the day.
The match itself shapes as a cracker. The Eagles are in great form and the Rabbits too have been close to showing their best.
Manly can play in an unpressured fashion, sitting up there on top of the table, but that’s unlikely to mean they will be taking it easy as they pride themselves on consistency in intensity. I am a massive fan of their attacking play with a simple but enterprising attitude, they unsettle opponents defences by ball movement especially on early plays and from their own end too. They trust each other’s decision making and skills in pass and catch.
Souths, perhaps with a point to prove after Wayne Bennett’s apparent sarcastic or sour comment after they smashed his team, might be even more fired up. They might also be conflicted; to change radically from their consistent method of ‘smash-mouth’ attack could upset them. Then again if they don’t make some adjustments, Manly may take advantage of that predictability with their robust and aggressive defence.
For most of the season I have been waiting Luke Keary’s return from long-term injury. The potential formation of he and Adam Reynolds in the halves, with John Sutton at lock, offers the opportunity for much greater variety in the way they attack. This is something I have been concerned about for the mighty Rabbits as they pursue that elusive premiership.
Keary has a confidence, creativity and an instinctive side to his game that could be the difference Souths need to go with all that muscle and discipline.
However I won’t be too worried if Souths lose this match, provided they actually have a crack at the Eagles; play some footy; do some little plays with variations and subtlety; try to unsettle their rhythm.
Making mistakes can assist in improvement for the next match. Not having a go leaves you where you were last week.
It will all be part of the progression that the red and greens need to embrace to be there and do the big job on grand final day at that other big theatre just a little way down the 2014 track.
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