Street Corner

by JV Souths Blog
16/05/2010

Round 7, Anzac Day, was a journey to Australia’s capital facing a young Raiders team, who are notoriously hard to beat at home. Pippa’s faith tested I insisted we sit down as a family and watch the whole game at Mum and Dad’s house over a family lunch. And after another bet with a rival (a Raiders fan) I was seriously down on my mate to mate bets for the season. Following a tough defensive start to the game we were able to score in the eighth minute with an easy John Sutton try, however as it seems to play out in NRL recently, the first try scorer often ends up on the wrong end of the score board at full time. This fear was made more real with the Raiders scoring four unanswered tries in the first half for what seemed to be a runaway win. Lunch at Mum and Dad’s finished as did my brother’s belief in the season with him leaving at half time in disgust! Immediately my phone beeped with mocking texts saying the Red and Green were Rabbit stew. I must admit even my confidence took a bit of a beating (although the $20 bet with my Canberra mate kept me glued to the TV for the final outcome).

The second half started with a great deal of trepidation however Johnny Lang’s half time prep talk must have motivated the troops in what has to have been the comeback of the season. Lead by a much larger forward pack, Johnny Sutton put up a spiraling bomb that was taken by Canberra’s Brett Kelly, however he was out muscled and out-thought by our flying winger Nathan Merritt, who in a piece of brilliance, made a one on one strip to score an inspirational try which spurred our boys on to show the panache we all know they are capable of.

This try was followed up by a Chris Sandow kick and quick hands by John Sutton, offloading to our Kiwi legend, Isaac Luke, who stepped around the opposition to score a truly rousing try. This new breath of confidence from our boys saw South’s throwing the ball around in a fashion that backs can only find behind a great forward pack with South’s dominating attack from then on.

Some classy back line attack saw a great ball being sent by Colin ‘you’re the’ Best drawing the defence and offloading to ‘the biggest man I’ve seen on TV’ Dave Taylor to dive from almost five meters out to score in the corner; who thought he was capable of being a centre? Chris Sandow’s conversion from the sideline certainly silenced the text messages on my phone and prompted me to forward my bank account details to my Canberra friend for immediate settlement.

The talent of our forward pack then came to light with our two biggest (literally) signings combining to put Rhys Wesser through for a nail biting finish which put us ahead by two. Dancing around the living room, I was able to impart some of the excitement onto my dear wife and respond to those texts in a way I thought impossible only 40 minutes earlier. A confident comeback win was just what the doctor ordered. My quest to get my wife in the Red and Green grew momentum and we earned the best two points I’ve seen in a long time. And, I’m still yet to receive my winnings from my then clearly sheepish Canberra friend; you know who you are…

The next round we hosted the team in which I am trying to draw my wife away from, those boys from well north of Bondi Beach, Many. Unfortunately I was unable to attend or watch the game live as I was away with the folks and Pippa visiting my father in law for a day at the Mudgee races. Unfortunately South’s performance was as successful as my gambling on the day! Relying on text message updates from my brother in Sydney I could only share in the lack of luck on the track with the lack of luck on the field with some Mudgee South’s supporters. However, I knew this was merely just a stumble on our way to a top eight place at the end of the season.

Writing from a work trip in Mittagong this Friday and Saturday we embark on the traditional round, where we prepare to go into battle with the West Sydney Tigers at the home of Grand Final League, The Sydney Cricket Ground. Happily we’ve announced the resigning of one of our stalwarts, Shannon McPherson, for the next two seasons. Although we’re still without Michael Crocker for this game, I’m confident of not only getting home in time to cheer on the Bunnies from the SCG, but also of a triumphant win; hopefully not courtesy of a Nathan Merritt field goal! So get out there South’s fans and cheer on our boys to another win, and follow my weekly updates from here on until Grand Final day.