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The South Sydney Rabbitohs have quickly become the biggest story of the season as the Bunnies scrap tooth and nail to make it to September with a premiership roster the envy of most other clubs.
When Latrell Mitchell is at his best he’s one of the most brilliant game-breaking players in rugby league but unfortunately for South Sydney Latrell has been below par since returning from a calf injury sustained in NSW State of Origin camp.
The brain explosion elbow on Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell summed up the legion of South Sydney members and fans’ frustrations with Mitchell now at risk of missing the round 27 grudge match against arch rivals Sydney Roosters.
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A month ago with Latrell returning from injury we tipped the Bunnies to go on a run and challenge the Panthers and Broncos for the title.
Not for the first time that comment hasn’t aged well.
Another thing that hasn’t aged well is the image of Latrell shotgunning a can of beer on stage with country music rock star Luke Combs last Wednesday night.
‘Cheap’ Trell elbow sees sin bin! | 00:46
We’re big fans of Mitchell, Combs and a cold beer on a hot day but this isn’t the image you need from one of the leaders at South Sydney so close to the finals.
At the strong NRL clubs we know players who would have blown up about this and called it out.
The Newcastle Knights continued their outstanding late season roll by picking South Sydney apart stitch by stitch in front of a sold-out home crowd riding every minute of the sleeves-up brand of football the home side produced.
It’s incredible to think the palookas in charge at Newcastle were a long way down the road in terms of moving coach Adam O’Brien on prior to the Knights coach extracting the best out of Novocastrian roster.
This is an example of very good coaching.
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As good as the Knights’ left edge was, the story of round 25 was the Rabbitohs’ inability to click into gear so close to September.
The reality the Rabbitohs are now facing is nemesis foundation rivals the Sydney Roosters will all in likelihood have a shot at ending the red and green season a week short of the finals.
The rumblings have been coming out of Heffron Park for a month now about South Sydney failing to train hard enough to have the steely edge to mount a proper run at the premiership.
It’s a major issue for coach Jason Demetriou who’s done an outstanding job up until this point but has now got a genuine problem with the Bunnies only winning four out of their last 12 games.
Man mountain Marzhew bangs hat-trick | 01:39
Souths can make excuses about injuries all they like but the Panthers and Broncos have both been hit hard over the back half of the season and they’re still winning and on top of the competition.
The Broncos went through a similar collapse last season when they went from fourth position to missing the top eight.
South Sydney are now in a worse position — they were sitting on top of the ladder after 11 rounds.
For a side who was eight wins and three losses after 11 games and sitting equal first on the NRL ladder it’s been a spectacular fall.
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Rabbitohs coach Demetriou needs to make some tough decisions with the season on the line and in all likelihood without the club’s biggest star in Mitchell.
That will mean Blake Taaffe will come in at fullback.
The South Sydney coach has also got some major positional decisions to make as the Bunnies fight to stay alive against the Roosters.
Halfback Lachlan Ilias can never be accused of not having a crack but the reality is he’s out of form and must be close to being dropped to NSW Cup.
But it would be completely unfair to pin all of South Sydney’s problems on Ilias. Cody Walker is the senior playmaker and as good as he was in Origin III for NSW he’s also struggled for rhythm since.
We’ll finish with an honourable mention to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not circus tent the Wests Tigers and the Beef-Eater barbecue the club had engraved as a send-off gift for departing halfback Luke Brooks.
Enough said. What were your likes or dislikes from round 25?
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