The Roosters and Rabbitohs are locked in to face each other again next week, with Friday night’s blockbuster to decide who gets home ground advantage for the sudden death shootout.
But outside of that, there is not much else to play for on the surface.
In reality though, there is plenty that can be gained or lost from the 80 minutes that will be played out at the brand-new Allianz Stadium.
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You only have to look back to 2019, when these fierce rivals met in the last round of the regular season only to play once again the following week in a qualifying final.
The Rabbitohs won the first meeting 16-10 but were easily outclassed 30-6 when it mattered most, with the Roosters clearly learning a thing or two from their final hitout of the season.
The intensity of the regular season game also got the best of the two sides’ enforcers Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sam Burgess, with both slapped with suspensions.
While Waerea-Hargreaves successfully fought his ban, it serves as a warning to both teams ahead of Friday’s game, with the Roosters prop already treading a fine line as it is.
On the other side of the field, former premiership-winning hooker Cameron Smith warned that Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker in particular could be targeted by the Roosters.
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“Absolutely I do,” Smith said when asked on SEN 1170’s ‘The Captain’s Run’ if he could see the Roosters going after Mitchell or Walker.
“Why not? Why wouldn’t you? Playing within the rules of course, why wouldn’t you push the boundaries when there is a history of, particularly Cody Walker, being distracted by those little niggling things from the opposition.
“I think he’s shown a history of doing that, when players go out of their way to give him a little shove or extra work on the ground, maybe even just getting into his ear and talking to him, it distracts him. It takes him away from the job at hand.”
The Dragons showed the way to do it earlier in the season when they got in Walker’s head, racing away to a comfortable halftime lead and finishing 32-12 winners.
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Earlier in the week on ‘NRL 360’, veteran league journalists Paul Crawley and David Riccio both said Walker and Mitchell needed to be careful to not be drawn into any unnecessary drama.
“It’s crucial that Souths don’t overcook it (emotionally),” Crawley said.
“Latrell and Cody (Mitchell) are both very emotional players, we know that. We know that Latrell plays his best football when he’s walking the line, but he can’t cross it. We’re on the eve of the finals again.”
“With the finals around the corner, one slip up (could cost them), if those emotions do boil over from Cody and Latrell,” Riccio added.
“They hold South Sydney’s hopes in their hands, those two players.”
Of course, that message applies to all players from both sides, which in itself provides coaches Jason Demetriou and Trent Robinson with an additional headache.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what both coaches do tonight because it’s highly unlikely the Roosters are going to finish in fifth and more than likely going to face South Sydney again,” former NSW Blues coach Laurie Daley said on The Big Sports Breakfast.
“Do you rest all your stars? Do you play them for 40 minutes? This is for South Sydney as well.”
It is going to be hard to convince players from either team to sit out this game in particular, with Damien Cook himself disappointed to be sidelined as he recovers from Covid-19.
The Rabbitohs rake had already been given last week’s game off to recover and told The Big Sports Breakfast he was keen to suit up for Friday night’s clash.
“There’s something different about this one,” Cook said.
“I remember when I came to the club and they spoke about the rivalry I had no idea what it really meant and didn’t really have much interest in it because I hadn’t grown up a Souths supporter either.
“But the fans are the ones that get behind it the most. The tension and amount of build-up in the week slowly grows and once you get out there you can feel it, it’s like playing semi-final football no matter what time you’re playing.
“You’re out there bashing each other and seeing who can hold on the longest. It’s pretty easy to stick to the gameplan because it’s such a big game and we want to make sure we win.”
That gameplan, according to Cook, is to take it to the Roosters up the middle — and that includes trying to neutralise the threat of Waerea-Hargreaves.
“We’d like to take the battle on through the middle,” he said.
”That’s where our forwards have been playing really good footy this year and we’ve got to take it to their forwards. I thought that a big reason the Roosters were so good against Melbourne last week was their forward pack, Waerea-Hargreaves especially.
“I think that’s where the battle will be won tonight.”
