Souths skipper Cameron Murray has opened up on the grand final heartache from last year’s loss to the Panthers that is driving him and his teammates to go one better in 2022.
The Rabbitohs had one hand on the trophy last October, before a Stephen Crichton intercept of a Cody Walker pass turned the game on its head.
The Panthers led 14-8, before a late try gave Adam Reynolds the chance to lock up the scores and send it to extra time, but the kick sailed wide.
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However perhaps Souths’ best chance of snatching a win came when Murray burst through into the backfield after making a break late in the game only to have no one on his shoulder.
Souths fans could only wonder if Latrell Mitchell would have been on Murray’s hip had he not been suspended for the finals series.
Those are the small margins in grand finals and unfortunately they can haunt the team that ends up on the losing side.
Murray admits the pain of that defeat never really goes away, but he has tried in his first year as skipper to use it as fuel for him and his players to make sure they don’t have to go through it ever again.
“When you lose a grand final there is nothing really good about it,” Murray told foxsports.com.au.
“But if there is any silver lining it is the fact it makes you just that little bit more hungry to get back there and win it.
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“Everyone remembers how they felt after that game and they never want to have that feeling again, so hopefully that is the motivation and the drive we need.”
Murray’s back row partner Jai Arrow felt a different pain that night after a concussion ruled him out of most of the grand final.
Like Murray, Arrow admits it is hard to forget that feeling of disappointment, but he too chooses to focus on using it to drive future success for the club.
“It will always be in the back of your mind, those losses definitely hurt,” Arrow told foxsports.com.au.
“But it is more the mindset of moving forward and looking what’s ahead and that is Cronulla this weekend.
“It is do or die footy from here on out and we are just enjoying every challenge that is ahead of us.
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“We are looking forward to going back to Allianz and hopefully seeing a packed house there and playing some good footy.”
Souths’ Grand Final side lost the key members of Adam Reynolds, Dane Gagai, Jaydn Su’A, Benji Marshall and Wayne Bennett for their revenge mission in 2022.
The team started slowly and missed talisman Latrell Mitchell to injury for a large chunk of the season, but they look to have timed their run perfectly at the back end of the year.
Arrow admits the season has had its ups and downs, but he always had faith in the squad to find their best footy when it counts most.
“I think it is about having the mindset that it is a new season coming into this finals series,” Arrow said.
“It is do or die for us from here on in, so if we are not up to scratch then our season will end.
“It is just a matter of doing the right things on the field and training hard and well to execute that in the game.”
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Souths’ 30-14 win over the Roosters in the elimination final was eventful to say the least with a record seven sin bins across both teams.
The general consensus is that Souths handled the emotion of the occasion better and played more footy to beat the Roosters, who were off their game.
Murray revealed the team kept a narrow focus on execution of their game plan and turning up for their mates in defence, as evidence by the fact they kept the Roosters scoreless over 20 minutes when Souths were reduced to 11 men.
“We didn’t really speak about staying out of the rubbish at all really,” Murray said.
“I’m just proud of the way the boys did it.
“You can only control what you can control and the boys did really well to not let the emotion effect them too much and just do what they needed to do.
“We always speak about helping each other out there and supporting your teammates and getting better every week.”
Unfortunately Souths’ bid to avenge last year’s grand final defeat doesn’t get any easier this week against the Sharks, who finished second behind only the Panthers this season and have been the third best defensive team all year.
Murray knows the mountain is only getting steeper in their bid to climb Everest and return to the Grand Final.
“Fitzy has done a great job and they have bonded really well together as a team,” Murray said of the Sharks.
“They are a big threat to us and we weren’t able to get the job done earlier in the year.
“They have got threats across the whole park and they are a team where you just can’t switch off because they will make you pay.
“We need to be focused and turn up with the right attitude and just bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm and just play our style of footy.
“We have got a big couple of sessions left, so we want to start putting our game plan into practice and start building some confidence for Saturday.”
Murray had some big shoes to fill in 2022, with club legend and skipper Reynolds moving to the Broncos.
However, apart from some bumps in the road he is just 160 minutes away from emulating his former captain and leading Souths to a grand final.
Murray refuses to indulge in reflection on his own personal journey until the season is over and is focused on getting the job done with his teammates.
“I was talking to a few reporters about my journey so far as captain and our journey as a team and it was probably the first time I was able to actually reflect on it,” Murray said.
“I guess that shows that I am not trying to focus or dwell on any achievements that we have had so far or trying to think too far ahead.
“I’m just trying to focus on the job at hand and not try and get too far ahead of myself or bask in the year that has gone by.
“I’m just trying to keep a simple narrow focus and play good footy this week.
“It is something that I will probably reflect more on in the off-season and I’ll save all the sentiment and emotion for then.”
For Murray and Souths’ fans they will be hoping that is when he is holding aloft the premiership trophy.
