Rugbyleaguelive.com | 23/09/09 | 0

Season finish: 10th
Rep honours: Roy Asotasi (New Zealand), Craig Wing (New South Wales), Michael Crocker (Queensland), John Sutton, Luke Stuart (City Origin)

It was an up-and-down year for the Bunnies, with brilliant wins and woeful losses on the field as Mick Crocker arrived and coach Jason Taylor departed.

Taylor’s exit came after a contentious off-field day on the drink, but could have been as much to do with his team’s failure to reach the finals for a second straight year.

In the end, the Rabbitohs finished just one win behind the Parramatta Eels at the end of the regular season, but it was their inconsistency that cost them a finals berth.

Sensational results like a 44-12 thrashing of the Broncos in Brisbane were cancelled out by humbling defeats such as the 54-20 capitulation against the Tigers.

What went right
John Sutton was superb for the Rabbitohs early in the year, almost playing his way into a New South Wales jersey.

His 27 try assists were the most of any player in the home-and-away season, while he also delivered 23 line-break assists – equal second in the NRL alongside Johnathan Thurston and behind only Benji Marshall.

A busy Isaac Luke also continued to impress, topping the NRL for dummy-half runs, while Luke Stuart and new signing Mick Crocker helped ensure Souths had one of the strongest packs in the competition.

What went wrong
Halfback Chris Sandow looked out of his depth at times in a tough case of ‘second season syndrome’.

The little playmaker failed to provide the spark in attack he had showed in his cameo appearances of 2008, and finished the season with a whopping 157 missed tackles – 51 more than the next biggest offender.

Kiwi international and captain Roy Asotasi also had some off patches, struggling to provide his usual impact up front during South Sydney’s mid-season slump.

The departure of Craig Wing to Japanese rugby was more bad news for Souths fans, while the team’s end of season festivities – punctuated by the David Fa’alogo’s bizarre knockout punch that ended both his and Jason Taylor’s career at the club – was not the ideal way to cap the year.

Looking to 2010
While the bulk of the team remains the same, there are big changes with the departure of Wing and Taylor and the arrival of big name props Dave Taylor and Ben Ross.

The signing of Taylor looks like the best bit of business in the NRL so far – the Brisbane youngster is big, fast, strong and skilled, and is sure to be let loose on the fringes as a wide-running back-rower by his new club.

That’s because the Rabbitohs suddenly have a plethora of props in their side with injury-ravaged Sharks big man Ross joining Roy Asotasi and Luke Stuart up-front.

And with Crocker providing plenty of aggression and experience at lock, South Sydney will arguably boast the most fearsome forward pack in the NRL.

John Lang seems an ideal replacement for Taylor – an experienced, grand final-winning coach who is no stranger to the players, having being promoted from his post as the Rabbitohs’ football consultant.

If he gets the Bunnies to reach their potential, there’s no reason why they can’t be among the finals contenders come this time next year.

Player movements
Ins: David Taylor (Broncos), Ben Ross (Sharks), coach John Lang
Outs: David Fa’alogo (UK Super League), Craig Wing (Japanese rugby), Eddie Paea (Sharks NSW Cup), Michael Greenfield (Dragons), coach Jason Taylor (sacked)