South Sydney Rabbitohs

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South Sydney Rabbitohs
Image:Southslogo.jpg
Full nameSouth Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Club
EmblemRabbit
ColoursRed and green
Founded1908 (foundation club)
SportRugby League
LeagueNSWRL/ARL, National Rugby League
GroundTelstra Stadium
Capacity83,000
CEOShane Richardson
CaptainPeter Cusack
CoachShaun McRae
200513th of 15
Premierships20 - 1908, 1909, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971 (NSWRL)
Runners-Up13 - 1910, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1965, 1969
Minor Premierships17 - 1908, 1909, 1914, 1917, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1932, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1989
Wooden Spoons7 - 1945, 1946, 1962, 1975, 1990, 2003, 2004
Biggest win67 - 0 vs. Western Suburbs, July 23, 19101
Worst defeat0 - 62 vs. Sydney Roosters, April 25, 1996

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australia.

It is interesting to note that Souths are the only team that have finished on top of the ladder then on the bottom of the ladder in consecutive years - 1989 and 1990.

Contents

2002-04 - Rebuilding

After being ousted from the league in 1999, South Sydney's Rabbitohs were finally granted re-admission in 2002. Unsurprisingly, after creating a completely new team for the season, the Rabbitohs were not at their former best and performed disappointingly during the season - though they did notch up wins over various clubs, including two over Canberra. 2003 saw the team as Wooden Spooners, but they did acquire various new players including Bryan Fletcher, Ashley Harrison, Justin Smith and - arguably most importantly - Luke McDougall and Mark Minichello. 2004 was another less-than-successful campaign.

2005 - Return to Glory?

There was wild partying from Rabbitohs supporters on the afternoon of Sunday, 20/03/05, when Souths bounced back from an all-too anticipated loss to the Roosters the week before. The season was just two rounds old and already the Rabbitohs had a thunderous win on the board - 49-26 over the Parramatta Eels. Luke MacDougall's hat-trick of tries put the Bunnies on cloud 9, along with Joe William's eight conversions and a field goal.

The Bunnies would be winless again until Round 5, when they disciplined the injury-ridden Newcastle Knights 37-12 at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, before a crowd of 16,162. This raised another interesting point of debate throughout the season - News Ltd. were calling for the Bunnies to abandon South Sydney and become the Central Coast Rabbitohs, especially after the Central Coast controversially lost their bid for a new team to the Gold Coast mid-season. This has met with mixed response, but fans and club officials are vehemently opposed to the idea.

For the next eight rounds, the Bunnies suffered loss after loss to the NRL juggernauts (including form teams Melbourne, Brisbane and Manly but also to fellow basement dwellers Penrith) with the only relief being the bye in Round 8. After a promising start, Season 2005 was shaping up much like the last few Rabbitoh years. Many cite the turning point as Round 13, against the Bulldogs. Souths held the reigning premiers to a 21-all draw, and suddenly momentum seemed to be swinging back the Bunnies' way. A week later they hammered Manly 44-6, and though they went on to lose three more consecutively after that (including a second to arch-rivals St. George-Illawarra Dragons), they have recently bounced back to have won 5 of their last 6, beginning with a 24-14 drubbing of Cronulla-Sutherland at Aussie Stadium, and highlighted with a hard-fought 14-16 downing of the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville. Finally overcoming the Bulldogs in Round 21, they have most recently defeated the Roosters in Sydney 17-16.

All in all, Season 2005 has been by far the most promising since re-admission. The Rabbitohs are currently one of the form sides in the competition and, under coach Shaun McCrae, the Rabbitohs are looking a renewed, young force. Luke MacDougall and Ashley Harrison have both had stellar seasons, though Harrison will unfortunately be leaving the club at the end of the season to play for the Sydney Roosters. Their form in the latter part of the year has been excellent and augers well for the coming season. Their strong finish has handed the bottom place on the NRL ladder to the Newcastle Knights.

South Sydney finished level on premiership points with the Canterbury Bulldogs - the premiers of 2004.

Players of note

Captains (since 2005)

  • Bryan Fletcher (2005)
  • Ashley Harrison (2005)
  • Peter Cusack (captain elect 2006) GO Son

Notes

  1. This game was played using an obsoleted scoring system. Under current scoring guidelines, the score in this game would have been 84 - 0

External link

Famous Fans

References

Clubs in the National Rugby League

Brisbane Broncos | Canberra Raiders | Bulldogs | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Melbourne Storm | Newcastle Knights |
New Zealand Warriors | North Queensland Cowboys | Parramatta Eels | Penrith Panthers | South Sydney Rabbitohs | St. George-Illawarra Dragons | Sydney Roosters | Wests Tigers
2007 Admission: Gold Coast Titans

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