On Thursday night the South Sydney Rabbitohs give up regular home ground ANZ Stadium for one week, instead welcoming the Brisbane Broncos to Allianz Stadium.
It will be the first time the club has played a home game at the Moore Park venue since 2005, when they signed an initial three-year deal to play their home games at (what was then known as) Telstra Stadium from the 2006 season onwards.
It was a huge risk for a club battling financial problems, as well as poor results on the field, and the move to the Olympic stadium was initially not well.
Yet as the final year of this contract was about to start, the club signed a 10-year contract, effective at the start of the 2008 season, to continue playing home games at the Olympic stadium. This contract expires at the end of the 2017 NRL season.
But for this week only, the Bunnies play a little closer to their home training base at Redfern Oval.
It will be the first time the two clubs have met at the ground since they fought out a famous 34-all draw in this very same round in 2004.
The hosts entered that match last on the ladder, having not beaten the Broncos anywhere since 1989, while the Wayne Bennett-coached visitors were well on their way to their 13th consecutive finals series.
But from the outset, it was obvious the Bunnies had come out to play. In front of a crowd of just over 7000 they took it right up to Brisbane, scoring the first try of the match before trailing 18-8 at halftime.
The Bunnies pulled them back to 18-all, then 28-all, before edging ahead 34-28 with five minutes to play.
Just when it was thought Arthur Kitinas’ side would pull off one of the upsets of the season, an in-goal clanger cost them dearly, as Broncos hooker Neville Costigan scored to get the Broncos level again, 34-all.
A dramatic period of golden point followed, as both sides tried desperately to win the match through field goal attempts. However, in the end both sides were forced to settle for a draw.
The Rabbitohs had scored seven tries to the Broncos’ six, but inaccurate goalkicking from halfback Joe Williams proved costly, converting only three of his seven shots, while Corey Parker nailed five of the six shots he had.
It was the Rabbitohs’ second drawn result that season, after a 20-all result against North Queensland. That was the first draw recorded since golden point was implemented in 2003.
Souths finished the 2004 season equal last with the New Zealand Warriors (who were grand finalists just two years beforehand), but their worse percentage saw them claim the wooden spoon.
The Broncos went on to finish the regular season third, but crashed out of the finals in straight sets.
Eleven years on, only three survivors remain from the last Saturday of August in 2004: Corey Parker and Sam Thaiday for the Broncos, and John Sutton for the Rabbitohs.
The Broncos are currently in a form slump, having lost three of their last four matches to lose the competition lead to the Sydney Roosters on percentage. The Rabbitohs are equal with the Cronulla Sharks in fourth place, but ranked higher on percentage.
The Broncos need to win this week and then next against the Melbourne Storm if they are to keep alive their hopes of winning their first minor premiership since 2000.
The Rabbitohs will be keen to skip clear of the Sharks in the battle for fourth place and will have to make do without fullback Greg Inglis, who suffered a knee injury in their 32-18 loss to the Bulldogs last Friday night. However, hooker Issac Luke returns after missing last week through suspension.
The Bunnies will also have to take on a Broncos side which has vastly improved since the teams’ Round 1 meeting, which saw the Rabbitohs win 36-6 in Wayne Bennett’s first match in charge of the Broncos since 2008.
Can the Rabbitohs take advantage of their ‘home’ ground and get their premiership defence back on track, or will the Broncos keep their minor premiership hopes alive in their second visit to Allianz in six days?
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