This is a Ridiculous Article.

If my team was to Merge or thrown out like in 1999 I would be lost to the game altogether.
Between the end of 1999 to the beginning of 2002, I didn’t watch any NRL Rugby League at all, Nothing, No Test Matches, No Origin and certainly no club games.

To me and plenty of other Souths Members and True Fans, the game of Rugby League was dead to us.

In 2000 the Rabbitohs had a money revenue game at Redfern Oval to raise cash for our court fight against the NRL and Limited News…

Sat 19 Aug 2000, we had over 20,000 members and true fans attend an exhibition game against the USA Tomahawks.
The game had to be put back for over half an hour to allow the massive crowd to get in and find a seat.

Over at the SFS in a Semi-Final the week before between the SCUM Rorters (2) Vs Canberra (4), they could only manage a crowd of 16,441 and I bet my last dollar those figures were fudged as per usual.

The Rorts do have a history of creative accounting when it comes to calculating their Crowd Figures!

Get rid of Clubs and their fans will boycott the game.
Regardless of which code.

For reference.
https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2017/08/19/on-this-day-rabbitohs-take-on-usa-tomahawks/

Plenty of Whinging St Merge fans on here!
Face the facts, you just weren’t good enough.

RUBBISH, it is the new rule that came in early in the year, correct decision!

Plenty of Dragons Players and Fafita for the Sharks also never got their foot on the ball but NO PENALTY.
Decisions are NOT going both ways at all.

The player in question was L. Ah Mau.

In the Crichton one, he had the St Merge Marker all over him, hanging on and shoved Crichton to the Ground.

Cook got the ball over the line, it should have been a try to Souths.

Only if all their Semis are in Brisbane.
Which they won’t be.
Sure the Broncs will smash the Dragons and may beat the Storm the following week but their halves are their weakness.

A few weeks ago they played a Souths team minus 4 of our back 5.
If the Shoncs played the Rabbitohs this week, they would be having a Mad Monday.

Sutton’s favouritism towards the Storm against the Panthers boarded on downright corruption.
I watched that game, I have no idea how the Panthers won that at all.

For me, the Storm was also holding down and jumping early, why weren’t they penalised also?

As a Souths fan, I am dreading the prospect of having Sutton again and especially in Melbourne.

We have never ever won in Melbourne before so we don’t need any biased Referees against us to make it impossible.

The Rabbitohs do have the armoury to combat the Storm but why should any club have to go down there and beat a really good team and Sutton also?

As a retired referee myself, every week I just cringe every time I see Sutton refereeing.

It is OK and acceptable to make errors, we all do but 99.9% of you fans just don’t have any idea at all, it is hard enough referring in a Reserve Grade game let alone at the NRL, the highest level but for some reason, Sutton seems to make it look like favouritism as he always seems to be biased and especially towards those Queensland based clubs.

I want to remind everyone that the Storm is basically the 4th Queensland Club, all of their kids and their feeder clubs are from Queensland.

It depends how old you are Dan, if you are a 19-year-old then a charge of Dangerous contact by a head clash may well apply but when you are North of 50 plus then I can guarantee you I have never ever recalled any player being charged with Dangerous contact at all.

Dropping your knees is a separate charge as is using your foot ala Billy Slater style.
We didn’t have charges of throwing water bottles either.

We all know that I hate the Rorts and seeing Napa banned, well I won’t be losing any sleep at all.

BUT… It was a head clash, nothing more and nothing less.
Everyone should realise that a Head Clash is not against the Rules.

Was it poor technique or intentional?
Grade 3 is Intentional but he didn’t have his eyes on his opponent so how can they prove intent?
I think he should fight the charge.

I doubt we had a charge of Dangerous Contact in my day.
It is a post-concussion era charge.

It seems AJ may or may not be back this week.
Souths Backline will likely look like this!
1. M Hiroti
2. C Graham
3. D Gagai
4. G Inglis
5. H Hunt.

Read my new comment above, GI, AJ and Cam G will all back this week and Jennings in Rd 25.
We will be fine.

The experts say that 2 hard games against the Storm then the Rorts left us flat for the Broncos game, there is some truth in that but the Boys all had a long weekend this week, except for the rehab boys all others had Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to refresh themselves.

We will defeat the Raiders, that game against the Rorts would have taken something out of them.
The Storm lost the week after playing us…
The Rorts lost the week after playing us also.
Our boys hit hard.

Rob… all of these so-called experts said we were on the slippery slide after the Tigers game and an average game and win against the Eels… what happened next?
We came out and bashed the storm, 6 to 16 down we went on and smashed them to be 30 to 16 up and home then they scored late to make it 30-20, the scoreline flattered the Storm

Johnston, Inglis and Cam G will all be back for the Raiders game.
I am hearing that Rob Jennings is a very good chance to be back in Round 25 against the Tigers.

IF the Rabbitohs don’t get any further injuries, we will be at Full Strength for the First Semi-Final.
Minus Doueihi and Nicholls

Zane Musgrove should be back at the Bears this week also.
Mark Nicholls is coming along nicely and may be available for selection for the 1st or most likely the 2nd week of the Finals.

Reyno will play mate, he is fine.
The media always sensationalise it when key playmakers cop a knock.
I am more concerned about his Right Knee Injury he has been carrying these past few weeks.

2 Matches back mate He didn’t play from Rd 8 until Rd 22
He didn’t play from April 26th to 10th of August 15 weeks out.
20 minutes for the Bears where he only had 1 run doesn’t really count mate.

He had a foot/leg injury so he hasn’t had an opportunity to put in those “Miles in his legs”
He was underdone mate!

McTavish those “other players” have only missed 2 or 3 weeks and 6 weeks in GI’s case but Kennar was out for 15 weeks mate, a massive difference plus a leg injury to boot we was on crutches for 10 weeks.
Get a grip mate as you obviously have no idea about fitness!
He did some swimming and weight in the gym but that is no substitute for actually running and more importantly sprinting!

I hear you BA Sports but…

Don’t underestimate the contributions of Rob Jennings, he was the NRLs highest try scorer before he was injured and really solid in defence.

Campbell Graham… have you actually watched this kid play?
If you have you will notice his solid defence, he made Addo Carr look second-rate on a few occasions plus his ability to score a try out of nothing and he is so solid under the High ball
Did you see him pluck the ball out of the air and run 45 metres and also draw a penalty?
We went up and scored and changed that whole game against the Storm

You are talking about completed sets which is fine but I am talking about metres per set.
The last few weeks that has been about 39m per set.
When our main guys are in then we do get 59 metres per set, on Average.
A massive difference, that is the difference between a clearing kick on the last OR being in a position for an attacking kick for a repeat set OR running it on the last and scoring.

Here is a stat for you guys…
The Rabbitohs score way more trys on the 5th and last by running the ball than any other club.
We scored 2 against the Broncos last game.

The forwards are tired as you say BA as our forwards have to do so much more work due to the back 5 not coming out of trouble as Rob Jennings and Cam G do.

The Rorts are the best at utilising their backs coming out of trouble!

That is why they will miss the Semis

I don’t think my Rabbitohs have too much to worry about.
Only getting our players back and fit.

It would be difficult for any team to win with 4 of their 5 main back 5 players out.
1. Johnston missed 2 games, lost 2, due back Rd 25
2. Graham missed 2 games, lost 2, due back Rd 24-25
3. G Inglis missed 6 games, lost 3, due back Rd 24
5. Jennings missed 3 games lost 2, due back Finals week 2
So take your 1, 2, 3 and 5 out of any club and they would struggle.

Many experts talk about getting your sets started and on the front foot.

The one aspect that punters and so-called experts have failed to identify is this…
Souths have really lacked that “coming out of our own end” since our boys have been out.
We have really struggled in that area which has put extra workload on our forwards and it has forced us to shift the ball wide in our own end to make up those lost metres on tackles 1 and 2.
The more ball movement the greater risk of making errors and NOT completing your sets.

Also, since our strike power out wide has been out our attacking penetration has been lacking big time.
Our defence out wide on both sides of the ruck is also pretty ordinary

Gagai has tried his guts out but he isn’t a Fullback.
Burns is a Rookie and he needs more game time but he can improve in time.
Hunt is only a defensive Centre playing on the Wing, he hasn’t got much in attack at all.
Fuimaono is filling in at right centre but he is too slow, he is an Edge Forward, NOT a Centre.

Kennar started the year off great but he has been out injured since Rd 8, He is underdone as he had 20 minutes at the Bears, went off for concussion then he had to play against the Rorts and then the Broncos, obviously his match fitness and his attention to detail is lacking.
He has been Rocks or Diamonds

Mawene Hiroti debuted against the Broncos and came on with 13 to go after Kennar was hooked.

It is as simple as that!
I am confident that when we get our main guys back the Rabbitohs will return to that team that entertained us all during that 9 game winning streak!

IF my Aunty had BALLS she’d be me, Uncle.

He should have been banned years ago!

I just can’t see how my Rabbitohs are favourites with the Bookies.
I must admit I don’t watch many Shoncos games but they must be a pathetic team if they cannot be installed favourites with 4 of Souths first choice back 5 on the sidelines
Johnston, Inglis, Jennings and Graham are all out and even backup player Doueihi also.

Mawene Hiroti may make his debut from the bench, he is a Utility back who can play Fullback, Centre and Wing, he has also played the occasional game at 5/8. He plays mainly on the Right-Side.
He has the distinction of representing the Australian Schoolboys 2016 and also New Zealand U18s in 2017.
This kid is faster than Alex Johnston.

News around Redfern is that George Burgess and Adam Reynolds are in doubt and may well be late withdrawals.
Dean Britt and Connor Tracey are on standby.

Obviously, this game will be won up front but the Broncos backline poses many threats out wide.

Cam Murray broke JWH Ribs.
Isn’t that ruthless enough for you souvalis?

The trouble with that Con is it is so far out of sink, like 20 seconds out.

Roosters are a real pathetic club if they can only win by 4 points considering that GI, Jennings, Graham, Doueihi were all out plus AJ went off after only 2 minutes.

The Scum had 1 player out!

Ask yourself this question
How would the scum go if they had Tedesco, Mitchell, Ferguson and Tapou all out injured?

That is the equivalent of the players Souths had out.

2 trys each with only 2 Penalty goals being the difference.

NOT a glaring endorsement for the Rorts at all.

Bring on September and a full strength Rabbitohs outfit and we can all judge then!

Come on Matt, Journos write bloody fiction and lie all the bloody time.
I don’t take too much notice on what happens at other clubs but at my Rabbitohs, we read rubbish about my club in the media almost on a daily basis.
Especially when you are not going so well.

There are certain Journos who write nothing but rubbish but there are others who do try to do the right thing but sensationalism sells.

What is the old Journos saying?
“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story”

Josh Massoud, Paul Kent, Rothfield and the Lurker whoever the fark he is, is the worst of the lot.
Never ever believe anything they write, their correct strike rate is about 20%

This season I have read Papalii, SuA is a done deal at the Rabbitohs, yeah
How did that go?

The Coach has lost the dressing room, yeah right… NOT!
The last few seasons, Cody Walker, GI, Reyno, Cook, they all wanted out, yeah right, they all extended their deals with still with a year to run.

I always say to everyone, Contracts are binding but both parties have to agree.
If one party want’s out then compensation should apply.

If a club want’s to get rid of a player then they can either dig their heels in or accept a payout.
If a Player want’s to leave the club they can insist he stays or allows him to go to another club and they can apply a hefty transfer fee.

If Both Partys want out then that is not breaking a contract that is called dissolving a deal.

This is the only decent comment on this thread thus far!

Even with GI, Jennings and most likely Cam Graham out.
Forwards win big games and the Rabbitohs do have the best Pack and the best Halves by far.

It is extremely easy for many to say that Billy was the best of all time, especially by the younger viewers.

It really isn’t as easy as all that.

When judging players from different eras there are way too many variables to consider.

Leather balls Vs Synthetic balls, Full-time Professionalism Vs those players who worked 60 hours a week pre-70s era and still played, the Unlimited tackle era up to 1966 Vs the 4 and then the 6 tackles era.
The 2-yard rule to 5 yards, then to 5 metres then 8m it then moved to the 10 Metre Rule which was actually 12 to 13m then back to a flat 10 that we do have today.

For those who are confused and I am sure most of you are…
Back in the day, the 5m distance started from the point of the back foot of the second marker, not from the line of scrimmage that we have today.
So 5 metres was actually 7 or 8 metres depending on how close the second marker was to the first marker.

I bet many of you didn’t know that!

Over time the Players equipment and Technology, the fitness of the players improved immensely.
Being Full-time Professionals saw to that!

The Interchange rules that changed many times over the years, when scrums and play the balls were contested.

As you can see the game looks nothing like it was in Clive Churchill’s day back in the 1950s.

The transition of the game basically went through many phases and we do have great players from all eras.
To suggest that one player from our modern era using a 10-metre rule basically from 1991 to present was better than a player from another era is so hard to compare.

Best Fullbacks from different eras are as follows:
I am sure I may have missed some!

Please note that many players did play and therefore overlapped into different eras.

The Modern era 1991 to Present
Billy Slater, Darryn Lockyer, Anthony Minichiello, Tim Brasher,

The Professional era about the Early 80s onwards
Garry Jack, Gary Belcher, Greg Brentnall,

The Semi-Professional era 1971 to early 80s
Graeme Eadie, Graeme Langlands

The Amateur Era: 50s and 60s
Clive Churchill, Les Johns, Keith Barnes, Ken Thornett,

The Pre-War era:
Howard Hallett, Charles Fraser