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NRL 2017 season preview: South Sydney Rabbitohs

15th February, 2017
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Until the Rabbitohs cut out the mistakes and play as a unit, they aren't winning too many games in 2017. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Roar Guru
15th February, 2017
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2001 Reads

Starting the season as one of the favourites, for reasons that baffled me, the Christmas coloured team started off white hot, before collapsing in a heap. Turns out Sam Burgess wasn’t the only reason the won the comp in 2014.

I’d call the Rabbitohs the disappointment of the season, but I didn’t expect them to do well anyway.

To sum up 2016 for the Rabbitohs, Greg Inglis looked even more lazy and broken than he normally does, Luke Keary sucked, the Burgess brothers continued their downward spiral since the end of the 2014 season, and half of their players looked like they didn’t want to be there.

However, the back end of the year was quite good, igniting hope that 2017 could be different.

Can they continue the momentum they had at the end of last year, or was it a flash in the pan when there were no stakes?

Strengths
Sam Burgess was nowhere near as good last year as he was in 2014, but that doesn’t mean he was bad. Still was a powerful ball runner who makes a ton of tackles, Burgess might not be the best player in the game anymore, but being a premier forward is nothing to sniff at.

I do like their halves pairing. Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker are both great players and should play well together given that they are opposites in their play style. Reynolds has one of the best kicking games out there, while Walker is a livewire who can spark an attack.

As long as Walker kicks on and Reynolds stays uninjured, they will provide their side with a lot.

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Damien Cook is a wonderful player, so it’s a shame he will most likely be stuck behind Robbie Farah – but hey, when Cook is on the field, he will ignite the Rabbitohs’ attack. He is faster than some fullbacks, and has shown he will take advantage of any lazy ruck defenders.

Weaknesses
Greg Inglis is a weakness to this squad. When he tries he might be great, but now that he’s won a premiership at Souths, he doesn’t try game-in and game-out anymore, only lighting it up every seven games, or when he is in Origin. And when he isn’t trying he just limps around the field slowly.

Rabbitohs Greg Inglis runs the ball during the 2014 NRL Grand Final match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Additionally, while Sam Burgess is amazing, his brothers need to shape up or ship out. They are both on huge contracts and the only thing they provide is about four errors a game each. Neither have come close to their 2014 form, and if they continue to plod about this year it can’t be good.

Also, this team’s depth is terrible and full of players who love to get injured or suspended. What happens when Reynolds gets injured? Who slots in for Aaron Gray’s injury? If Sam Burgess is suspended or injured, who can take his place? What about when they have players playing State of Origin?

This is a team with an alright top 13 but below that it’s just trash.

The worst thing about this side is this that there’s an asterisk next to almost every positive point. Robbie Rochow is a great buy, but due to crappy forward depth he will be playing out of position and is constantly injured. Their halves pairing is fantastic, but can Walker kick on and how long will Reynolds be injured for? Cook is a wonderful player, but how much game time will he get behind Farah?

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Summary
Putting it bluntly, this isn’t a good side. None of the backs excite, none of the forwards outside of Sam Burgess are really that exciting, with everyone else being past it, out of form or young and untested.

The halves pairing is good and to be fair if Farah can stop being a ball hog and Inglis starts trying consistently, they have a great spine.

However, there are too many ifs and problems with this side. This is a side that has felt the sting of the ‘premiership tax’ significantly and are struggling for depth.

If everything goes perfectly and no one is every injured, the Bunnies will make the eight, but that isn’t happening.

They will start the year off strong, but a key injury or two will see them collapse in a heap and never recover.

They will finish 14th but they could end up as high as seventh and as low as 15th.

2016 finish: 12th

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Predicted 2017 finish: 14th

Transfers
Gains: Tyrell Fuimaono, Robbie Rochow, Connor Tracey, Robbie Farah, Luke Kelly, Anthony Cherrington, Robert Jennings, Brett Greinke

Losses: Joe Burgess, Luke Keary, Paul Carter, Kirisome Auva’a, Cameron McInnes, Nathan Brown, Michael Oldfield

Full-strength team
1. Greg Inglis
2. Alex Johnson
3. Bryson Goodwin
4. Hymel Hunt
5. Aaron Gray
6. Cody Walker
7. Adam Reynolds
8. Tom Burgess
9. Robbie Farah
10. Robbie Rochow
11. Angus Crichton
12. John Sutton
13. Sam Burgess
14. Damien Cook
15. George Burgess
16. Zane Musgrove
17. Jack Gosiewski

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