Canterbury have recorded their third upset in as many weeks, keeping NRL top-four hopefuls South Sydney try-less in a 14-6 win at ANZ Stadium.
Wayne Bennett concedes he’ll return to Brisbane for the NRL grudge match of the year with South Sydney’s title hopes on life support.
While the Rabbitohs are assured of September football courtesy of their best start to a campaign in 30 years, seven defeats in ten games have sent Bennett’s early-season pacesetters tumbling out of the top four for the first time.
“I’ve just told them in there it’s not terminal yet, but it’s getting close,” Bennett said after Souths failed to fire a shot in a sobering 14-6 loss to resurgent Canterbury.
“Look, you can’t win the competition if you’re not playing top football and our football’s nothing special at the moment,” Bennett said.
“So for us it’s ridiculous to be thinking about that. It’s the last thing I’m thinking about and it should be the last thing they’re thinking about.
“We’ve got to get back to being a resemblance of what we were and then we can talk about what we can do and can’t do.”
Of most concern to Bennett is the length of his side’s slump.
“It hasn’t been quick. It’s been over a period of months. It hasn’t been quick,” he said.
But the seven-time premiership-winning coach isn’t ready to raise the white flag yet.
“Of course you can get it back. It’s been here before this season. We’ve played some good football this year. We wouldn’t be where we are if we hadn’t,” Bennett said.
“We’ve just lost a bit of momentum. We have been since Origin time. We just haven’t got it back the way I thought it would have come back. It just hasn’t come back yet.
“It’s pretty disappointing. How do you measure disappointment? One to ten? I’m disappointed.”
Bennett had hoped Sam Burgess’s return would spark his star-studded side back into action.
Instead, Burgess finished Saturday’s match aggravating a quad strain, an injury that threatens to sideline the skipper from Friday night’s blockbuster with the Broncos.
The showdown will mark Bennett’s first game against his old club at Suncorp Stadium since rugby league’s longest-serving and most respected coach learnt of his sacking from the club last October via voice mail.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
They are still missing their first choice FB in AJ who has disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle of injuries and Adam Reynolds is playing busted with a bad back that is severely impacting his running, his kicking and his performance in general. At some point, if Reynolds is a long way off 100%, Bennett needs to bite the bullet and bring in Connor Tracey and give Reynolds a chance to rest and recover. Further killing the Rabbitohs chances with their horror run of injuries and suspensions are injuries to Braidon Burns and Sam Burgess that may have ended Burns's season and could keep Big Sam out for an extended period. To top it all off Damien Cook looks flat after battling on without a break since Origin. If Souths lose against the Broncos Cook needs to be rested against the Warriors along with Adam Reynolds and Connor Tracey needs to be given an opportunity to spark something ahead of him leaving Souths to return to the Sharks in 2020. I would also bring Tom Amone into the side instead of either Britt ot Nicholls. At this point Souths major concern should be improving their defence and trying to limit sides to 12 points or less, increase second phase play, or play off the back of offloads to increase uncertainty, and they need to get their completion rate up and eliminate the errors and ill-discipline from their game. All easier said than done.
rden
Roar Rookie
bunnies vs broncs: broncs are sort of sometimes winning by confusing the other side with ridiculous plays that doesn't seem to make any sense to the players themselves, bunnies are just plodding out the same rubbish each week and everyone facing them is already set because they know exactly what's coming. one thing that would hugely increase both these teams: swapping coaches. don't laugh, in 2019 think about what put these teams where they are now? not bad ideas, just the wrong ideas for the guys on the grindstones. or in other words consider the rosters: the bunnies need science and maths to get some variety, the broncs need plain sensible instructions to reach the end of a set not looking like a clown show.
Watda
Guest
Yes they have Paul, at the very least they should be relocated ??
William Dalton Davis
Roar Rookie
Walker’s 29?
steveng
Roar Rookie
I agree FT, next week will be the big test for the Bunnies, no more excuses as what we are seeing with the Bunnies is a carbon copy of the Dragons in the last two years, hope I'm wrong!
steveng
Roar Rookie
Fully agree, they look like they are going through the paces 'in slow mo' slow starts, mistake riddled footy, dropped balls (like U6s) and the most worrying is their unenthusiastic attitude, which has been a worry for a while, nothing new, as the Bunnies have been very disappointing for the last 5 years! We won the GF in 2014 and the next year, we never ever looked like doing it again came 7th, then in 2016 and 17 we didnt even make the 8, we came 12th and then in 2018 'shock horror' we came 3rd but IMO we never ever looked like winning the GF! The roster at the Bunnies must change and to have a more competitive roster, we can't rely on SamB, Cook, Reno and Walker to do everything, our interchange is at best 'average' and does not compare to the top 4 to 8 sides! Their performance last night was absolutely abysmal!
Steve
Guest
The Rabbits need a complete roster overhaul. Reynolds is chronically inured and Walker on the wrong side of thirty. A strike FB is needed as well....Douehi is a good utility but he's not a long term answer at the back. I agree with the sentiment here....the rabbits are cooked this year. Sam getting a season ending quad strain last night is just the final nail in the coffin.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Rabbitohs are just making up the numbers and will slide out of the top four. They are terrible at the moment
Superspud
Roar Rookie
About a month ago I predicted that Brisbane would go deeper into the finals than Souths. I'm sticking with that. If Souths don't turn it around soon they will finish 5th or 6th and can anyone see them winning a semi? They just went tryless against the 2nd worst team in the comp.
Paul
Roar Guru
Maybe my Dragons have infected the comp with a new disease, the main symptom being a late season form slump. So far it's got to the Rabbitohs, Panthers and perhaps the Knights.
Burwale
Guest
Maybe Bennet isn’t the coach he used to be. I think the game has moved on and in the long run the Broncos have got the better deal.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Those big Broncos forwards would have been licking their chops after watching the Bunnies play against the Dogs. They probably belted out got together and belted out a couple of rounds of the victory ditty in anticipation of next week as well and I wouldn't blame them. I wrote a couple of weeks back that these ladder predictor things are a waste of space as the script was never going to go to plan.