As i was born in November of 1971, i have never really known Souths to be going well. Since 1972, Souths have made the semi finals 8 times while "winning" the wooden spoon 5 times. From their readmission into the comp in 2002 they have won 3 wooden spoons and made the finals once, hardly a club that is going well.
We are now entering the phase of the season South Sydney fans boastingly declare that "the premiership is ours" & they get worse if they happen to win there grand final, the Charity Shield. The club feeds off this success, what other club in professional sport sells posters(see below) after winning a trial game?
So what will change in 2012 to make South Sydney a force, already the coach is hedging his bets by selecting 5 captains. But by breaking it down i can see method in his madness, Burgess, Crocker & Asotasi are always injured. John Sutton goes missing usually for 80 minutes at a time and that just leaves Matt King, a bloke selected only for his stupid haircut. Not since the Wolfman Williams has a player been so revered by selectors because of abnormal hair growth.
But and this is the big but, that Souths fans are pinning their faith on. Maguire is a modern coach from the Bellamy regime of hard work, discipline and inidan death locks. While Johnny Lang was an old fashioned coach in a modern era, Maquire has got Souths up to speed with what is required in this technological age of GPS monitors & ice baths.
Looking at Greg Inglis(before he got injured) this is obviously having a positive effect on the playing group, he was in great shape & if he can have a big year Souths might do well. They definately have a very good forward pack if they stay on deck but the query is on the halves. Adam Reynolds is a rookie half and i think Sutton is better in the back row.
They have the most amount of upside of any team & im sure if they win a few on the trot the fans from Homebush will be very vocal.
So is league going well when Souths are going well?If thats the case league has been shithouse for 40 years but you never know, this could be the year.
Tell me how you think Souths will go in the poll at the bottom of the page.
Long-time reader, first time poster.
ReplyDeleteSouths are a chance of making the eight if they stay healthy. But there success or failure makes little difference to the success of Rugby League. From what we heare, the NRL has been going from strength to strength. Despite all the off-field drama.
I don't think Souths should ever have been allowed back into the comp.