After Round 11 everyone was talking up the Rabbitohs. Was this their year after so many close misses?
It’s not hard to see why people were saying such things: equal top of the ladder; great defensive efforts; and superb scoring ability. It was all ‘glory glory’ at that stage.
Since then, the wheels have come off entirely and going by reporting, there is bad dose of myxomatosis in the burrow. As Jason Demetriou ponders the great divide between being a head coach and an assistant, the rest of us can ponder what went wrong.
Like a good episode of Air Crash Investigation, pinpointing the exact cause is multifactorial and painstaking in getting to the heart of the things. I may not get close to the real reasons for South Sydney’s issues, but I will outline a few.
To be brutally fair, Souths are an average team, with a few shining lights. Take out Cody Walker and it is a well below average team because he is the true genius and magician for the team.
Yet there is this messiah complex about Latrell Michell that statically, is just not warranted. Sure, silky hands, exceptional reader of the play, but effort areas and positional play are sub-optimal for such a highly paid player (a la Manly’s Josh Schuster).
In years to come I wonder if Mitchell will look back on his career and wonder what he could have been. He reminds me of Bernard Tomic, a gifted tennis player who hated tennis and only after he retired did he realise what he could have been. We all know someone who was gifted athletically or intellectually who never rose to their true potential.
Mitchell is in that same league.
Ever since Dave Brailsford introduced the 1 per cent improvement to the Great Britain Cycling Team back in 2003, effort has been the hallmark of great sporting teams. Currently Penrith are the team that exhibit this week in and week out and it shows.
Souths go out there half asleep, and around the 70th minute wake up to the reality that they are 16 behind and they’d better do something about it.
Souths need a mind coach. Someone who can awaken them to their potential every round. A mind coach that has them focused all week and has them motivated to perform for each other. A mind coach that allows them to take to the field free of distractions.
Latrell Mitchell with Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The departure of Wayne Bennett was a huge loss because he was this type of coach. The footage of him dancing and laughing with his team after a big Rabbitohs win a few seasons back spoke volumes for the camaraderie and sense of team he created.
Demetriou currently looks like a man who is wondering where the magic went.
Souths are dangerous, but they don’t play like it. Other teams have woken up to the fact that if you don’t give them get out of jail penalties, they are impotent coming out of their own half.
Finally, the most gutsy player doesn’t necessarily make the best captain. I love Cam Murray’s efforts, but he is the first human NRL robot with inbuilt ChatGPT for talking points post-games. He is not the leader that Souths need; I’d have Damien Cook as my choice.
I never thought Souths were a premiership threat, even at Round 11, but I always had a hope they could make the eight and knock out Penrith during the semis – that would be sufficient schadenfreude to mark the season as successful.
a
Roar Rookie
Latrell Mitchell is also. The modern day version of. Jayrrd hanye so much talent but wastes it all
Bruz
Roar Rookie
“Souths go out there half asleep, and around the 70th minute wake up to the reality that they are 16 behind and they’d better do something about it.” I think you subliminally summarised the issue with Souths: With the exception of Melbourne and Penrith, of course, playing finals in consecutive season would be detrimental to stamina, stability and motive. Of course it’s ideal to finish in top 8, but consecutive finals appearances are taking its toll on this squad.
chris1
Roar Rookie
Good points. And the wheels seem to have come off during and after SOO. Hopefully they get a second wind to cause problems in the semi's (if they make it). They look a beaten team to me however. Hope I'm wrong
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I think Souths had two external events that have impacted the team. First, the move into a new training facility, the dreaded centre of excellence that plagues every team who introduces one, high tech is thought to replace hard work. Secondly, I think they must have travelled more than any NRL team - Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Perth, was there Bathurst as well? I’d go crazy if I had to travel with my work team for so long!
Slammin_Sam
Roar Rookie
They have a shocking front office....
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Good article.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
Tough to argue against the numbers. This year, like most years, there's teams with quality squads eg Souths, Parra, even the Doggies who play underwhelming footy for whatever reasons and other squads that seem to play above their perceived abilities. This year I'd suggest the Warriors, Raiders and the Knights fit that bill. Safe to say the Bunnies, like all other teams that are struggling, will have to spend a fair bit of the off season working out what went wrong and what they need to do to fix what ails them.
SSTID
Roar Rookie
Yes some good players there, but how effective are they playing as a team? I am a South's supporter, but I am also a pragmatism and realist. Go to the NRL Team Stats and look at Souths position on the table for a number of key indicators and you will see that as a team they are very average and often well below average. Some examples: 1. Average points per game - 8th. 2. Average tries per game - 8th. 3. Average goals per game - 10th (they do miss Reynolds in this department). 4. Average possession per game - 11th. 5. Average sets completed per game - 17th. 6. Average supports per game - 13th. 7. Average line-breaks per game - 2th (thank you Mr Walker). 8. Average post contact metres per game - 6th (that surprised me, much better that it looks when watching the game). 9. Average tackle breaks per game - 13th. 10. Average kick metres return per game - 13th. 11. Average offloads per game - 16th (note how effective this metric was for Parra last night). 12. Average missed tackles per game - 16th (The telling stat compared to the first half of the season). 13. Average errors per game - 7th (highest) 14. Average ineffective tackles per game - 13th. 15. Average penalties conceded per game - 13th (well done, some discipline there). 16 Average handling errors per game - 2nd (highest). So statistically, Souths are where they should be on the ladder. That is why the reference to the 1% teams is so noteworthy, in most sports there is often a huge difference between the top teams and the also rans. The 1% teams are constantly doing the small things consistently well and doing it together as a team.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
"To be brutally fair, Souths are an average team, with a few shining lights." How many shining lights constitute "a few"? Damien Cook, Cam Murray, Koloamatangi, Walker, LM, Alex Johnson, Campbell Graham and Jai Arrow would walk into most other Clubs starting sides. That's 8 guys who are top quality players in their respective roles, when fully fit - and the rest of the squad are no slouches. This is not an average team, nor is it an average squad. There's seems little doubt though, they need someone to get their heads in the game from the first kick off and do that every week for a full season. They also need a strong forward leader who can take on the opposition packs in the middle to make space for a very good backline to do it's thing. They've got a good coach and good Club management, so plenty of reasons for optimism - but maybe not this year.
SSTID
Roar Rookie
There are a few clubs (Penrith and Chooks) who have developed a model of a dominate back three. On kick returns it is a given that these three backs will take the first 3 hit ups and they will rip and tear in on each run up. This gives them a good head start for the next 3 plays to at least get good field position and hold their opponents as far out from their try line through solid defence. Attitude and effort! Souths don't have this, so their model is 4 rumbles (if that) up the middle and the 5th tackle is the attacking play and 6th tackle is the kick. They hope and prey they get a penalty or the other team makes a mistake. But if Souths get anywhere in the "red zone" with a few tackles in hand they you almost always expect them to score, or go very close.
Mr T
Roar Rookie
“ Other teams have woken up to the fact that if you don’t give them get out of jail penalties, they are impotent coming out of their own half.” I couldn’t agree more. Without a significant amount of six agains and penalties, souths really struggle. Latrell and Walker are the 2 of the most dominant players in the comp when their team is on the front foot and rolling down field. If opposition teams hold their discipline, they struggle to make an impact.