With the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters both in scintillating form, Friday night’s clash between the two traditional rivals is looming as a potential grand final preview.
After several seasons of regression following their 2014 premiership win, the Rabbitohs, under rookie coach Anthony Seibold, have rediscovered the form that saw them lift league’s holy grail four years ago.
They have won eleven of their past twelve matches, with the only blemish being an upset 22-6 loss to the Wests Tigers in Round 19.
Last Friday night, led by incumbent New South Wales hooker Damien Cook, the Rabbitohs came from behind to defeat the Melbourne Storm by 30-20 and claim the outright premiership lead.
The victory was made all the more impressive given captain Greg Inglis has been sidelined for more than a month due to a thumb injury he suffered in their Round 16 win over the Cowboys in Cairns.
The good news for Bunnies fans is that he should be back for next week’s trip to Brisbane, where the Rabbitohs haven’t won since the opening round of the 2015 season.
Greg Inglis of the Rabbitohs. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But the bad news to come out of the match against the Storm was the serious ACL injury suffered by rookie back Adam Doueihi, who appears set to miss the next twelve months as he undergoes a knee reconstruction.
What was just their fifth ever win against the men from AFL heartland has kept them on track to claim its first minor premiership since 1989 with four matches still to play before the finals get underway in September.
One team that are intent on stopping them in their tracks are the Sydney Roosters, who are coming off an unconvincing 26-20 win over the Cowboys in a match played in front of less than 10,000 people at Allianz Stadium.
Deputising for the injured Luke Keary at five-eighth, Ryan Matterson played well, while Cooper Cronk took the points in his final individual showdown against former state and national teammate Johnathan Thurston.
It was the Roosters’ eighth win in their past nine matches, and fourth consecutive since their Round 17 bye. They sit third on the ladder with the best defensive record of any side, conceding only 15.05 points on average.
But what didn’t help was the fact that the Sydney Swans played their AFL match against traditional high-drawers Collingwood next door at the SCG at the same time, with that match attracting nearly 40,000 spectators.
In fact, that match drew more people than four NRL matches last week combined – the Bulldogs versus Broncos, Rabbitohs versus Storm, Eels versus Titans and the said Roosters versus Cowboys match.
4 Sydney NRL games
Dogs v Broncos 6434
Souths v Storm 15132
Eels v Titans 6158
Chooks v Cows 9721
Total. 374451 AFL game
Swans v Pies 39238— BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) August 4, 2018
After a weekend (and to some extent, a season) plagued by poor crowds in Sydney, especially last Thursday and Saturday night, the NRL will be hoping for a decent turnout between the Rabbitohs and Roosters this Friday night.
When the two foundation rivals met earlier this season in Round 6, it was the boys from Redfern who took home the points, winning 26-14 at Allianz Stadium in front of 15,242 fans.
The match was evenly poised at 8-all at half-time, but two clangers from Roosters fullback James Tedesco in as many minutes following the resumption led to the Rabbitohs scoring twice as they eventually took control of proceedings, going on to win their third match for the season.
At that point, both the Rabbitohs and Roosters were 3-3, but since then have lost only five matches between them heading into the rematch in Round 22, where there are sure to be fireworks as we head towards September.
A win for the Chooks will see them not only join the Bunnies on 32 competition points, but also claim top spot on the ladder, though the Storm will have the chance to take it back when they face the Sharks on Sunday.
With this Friday night’s clash shaping as a potential grand final preview, just imagine for a moment if the two teams do meet on the last day of September this year.
Not only would it be their first meeting in a grand final since 1937, it would be the most anticipated grand final in recent NRL history, eclipsing the Rabbitohs’ most recent appearance in 2014, in which it defeated the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to end a 43-year premiership drought.
The Bunnies and Roosters are the league’s oldest rivalry (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Their title win four years ago was the ultimate reward for the loyal fans which had stuck by them from their brief expulsion from the NRL in 1999 through to the tough couple of years which followed their return to the competition in 2002, and ultimately the glory of 2014.
In the intervention, the Roosters have won two premierships since the turn of the century, winning in the same year the Bunnies returned to the competition, as well as in 2013, when they conquered all before them to claim an unexpected title under first-year coach Trent Robinson.
More than a century on from the foundation of rugby league in Australia, the rivalry between Souths and Easts remains strong, and it would not be surprising if they do meet on grand final day this year, in which case the whole city of Sydney would be likely to come to a standstill.
To the present to finish off, and expect neither side to give an inch this Friday night, especially with the finals just around the corner.
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