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Published: 3:40PM Thursday July 09, 2009

Source: AAP

PhotosportRoy Asotasi

South Sydney captain Roy Asotasi says Friday night's NRL clash against Penrith is the start of a nine-week road to redemption for the club's players.

Mauled 54-20 by Wests Tigers last Friday in what coach Jason Taylor described as his lowest point at the club, Asotasi says victory over the Panthers at ANZ Stadium can go a long way to restoring the pride in the Rabbitohs team.

The Kiwi international apologised for his team's performance and said the clash with a Panthers team which has been in the top eight for most of the season is all about redemption.

"We're really looking forward to Friday night just to rectify what we did on Saturday night," Asotasi said.

"For us, we've got nine weeks to impress and I think we've really got to go out and start picking up our game now.

"There's no excuses and there's no room for error. This is the business end of the competition and we really need to pick up our game.

"We've got this game against the Panthers on Friday night to really prove to our members and to JT that we're really serious and really want this game."

Taylor resisted the temptation to swing the axe following the heavy loss to the Tigers, with fullback Luke Capewell the only non-State of Origin absentee from the the team which ran on last Saturday.

Capewell has been replaced in the No.1 shirt by Nathan Merritt with Beau Champion earning a first-grade recall to take Merritt's spot in the centres.

The Panthers are on a high after their thrilling 38-34 victory over Parramatta last Sunday, though hat-trick hero Michael Jennings will be missing due to his NSW call-up.

But Asotasi believes his team can take a lot from the example of Penrith, who have defied many pre-season predictions they would find themselves near the bottom of the ladder this year.

"They've (Penrith) been the underdog side all year, they've really come out and they're a really quality side, performed well," he said.

"No-one thought they'd go well this year but they've fought well and really proved all their critics wrong.

"It's going to be a tough game and it's a good challenge for us to obviously prove ourselves and show we can compete against a top side.

"If we do well against Penrith, what we did the previous week is erased - we're switched on."