Souths swirl into media spotlight

July 2, 2009

South Sydney NRL 2009Ask anyone at the South Sydney Rabbitohs club what one of the main goals in 2009 would be (apart from winning the NRL competition) it would have been to stay out of the media spotlight.

More so than other clubs, Souths tend to feel the wrath of the media when things go astray or there aren’t too many other stories leading the sports news.

As the Bunnies continued to wobble through 2009 with only patchy form, they were helped by the constant scandals of 2009. From the several weeks of headlines from the Cronulla Sharks club as it went to the brink, then the Denis Fitzgerald affair over at Parra and countless individual stories from the likes of Jake Friend, Willie Mason, Brett Finch and many more.

All this news kept Souths’ poor form off the back pages.

For it’s well known, that the Bunnies have a great playing roster this year backed by an army of coaches, personal trainers, assistants and world class facilities. The Rabbits even had the luxury of picking up Michael Crocker this season, adding to their already star studded forward pack. Their scrum is virtually a who’s who of international football from here and across the tasman.

They have try scoring power in the form of Colin Best, Nathan Merritt and a swag of youngsters already proving themselves. Craig Wing is nearing career best form, but seems slightly unhappy at Redfern though. While Rhys Wesser has been on ice for several weeks, the loss of the big name fullback can’t be used as an excuse – as Souths simply have so much depth now.

But everything boiled over this week. After the loss to Newcastle, the media hunters were out in force looking for something to stab the Bunnies while they were down. And they found it in the form of a an old school chook raffle in the Eastern Suburbs. Souths doing their best to raise funds to boost their bottom line in the shopping centres of Maroubra and East Gardens.

Not really a big deal right?

Well, something, anything the media could get their hands on was enough. One thing leads to another, old powerbroker George Piggins is immediately on the offensive. It’s so ironic, that Souths’ original saviour is now only heard from when things are going bad.

When the Bunnies are flying high, you never hear from George – he has claimed he rarely watches the team nowdays.

But if they hit a snag, or things turn tough – you can bet George will be on the front foot, throwing mud at the Bunnies. It seems to be a case of sour grapes, which is such a shame. There is no question, Piggins once did so much for Souths – he brought them back from the brink.

However, there comes a time when you need to say “Ok, I was out-voted for control of Souths” – time to move on.

It doesn’t help anybody, except maybe the media when the likes of Piggins come out and fire broadsides at the South Sydney Club. Ok, so a chook raffle might not be so glamorous, but every cent counts for NRL clubs and certainly in times of economic downturn, it becomes even more important.

Yes, Souths should be doing better on the ladder given their squad and top shelf coaching from Taylor, Lang and Tallis – however, the judgement can only really be made once the final Top 8 is decided for 2009 and that doesn’t look like being confirmed until the final Round of Rugby League given how close things are.

So George, please, relax. Sit back, support your team when the chips are down and if you really must berate them in the public eye, wait until they actually fail before writing them off totally.



Written by NRL News · Filed Under NRL Editorials 

Comments

One Response to “Souths swirl into media spotlight”

  1. Jules on July 3rd, 2009 3:14 pm

    Wow. What an unbiased article! I’m amazed that such an article could be written about any football club let alone my beloeved Bunnies.

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