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?
steveng
Roar Rookie
How I wish that Souths would dump that dreaded 'Olympic Park' and reinstate the legend 'Redfern Oval'! But the 'Sports Stadium' as it was called before, is not a bad oval and its close to where I live which is the heart of the Rabbits. For mine this game boils down to two things; one, if Souths play the same as against the Bulldogs, they will lose and lose big time, two, Souths will have to be much more creative and not stay so flat with their forwards running one up, as they did against the Bulldogs and the majority of the season. Souths will have to be and do plenty of 'off loads' and back each other up with fast play the balls to win. GI is not there so if Alex Johnston is at fullback he will have to have a blinder and not be like he was in the past, when he dropped the bombs and made mistakes under any ball that came his way. Very hard game for Souths, but I have faith that the Rabbits will get up and win, just like they will win next week against the Roosters! Go the Rabbits!!!
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I don't doubt that. The flip side of the coin is that Souths' fanbase now extends all over Sydney and for many of us, Allianz is very difficult to get to because it is located so far from a station and you have to drive through the city to get there. Souths' crowds started to grow once they moved to ANZ. Some people argue they grew because Souths started winning again, but this isn't entirely true as the crowds started coming back while the team was still struggling. Russell Crowe has even come out as being a firm supporter of staying at ANZ because it is more centrally located. Not to mention the fact that the Marketing department at ANZ leaves Allianz for dead when it comes to promotion.
Squidward
Roar Rookie
I know a hell of a lot of souths fans going to close to their first bunnies game of the year as ANZ is just too far for them to go from their traditional souths areas they live in
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Should be interesting to see what kind of crowd the Rabbitohs can muster at Allianz. The SMH today was discussing the the NSW stadium strategy, which is due to be announced next month and it is believed that for Parramatta Stadium and Allianz to receive upgrades, the NRL will have to commit to playing more games at these grounds. Don't be surprised if an upgraded Allianz Stadium becomes home to the Roosters, Rabbitohs and Dragons in the not-too-distant future. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Parramatta, Canterbury and Wests take a share of Pirtek soon either.
Avatar
Roar Guru
Think I do remember that game from 2003. It was that loss that mentally scarred the Rabbitohs for the remainder of that season (they would only win three games, two against the Wests Tigers and one against the Storm) as they would take out the wooden spoon in their second year back in the competition.
Squidward
Roar Rookie
The best one was when souths were on the verge of an unlikely win, when meters from the line and seconds remaining Gorden Tallis one on one steals the poor from some player and dives over to win the game for Brisbane breaking rabbit hearts everywhere