The ROAR
South Sydney five-eighth John Sutton learned how he can lead the Rabbitohs to the 2010 NRL Finals from last year – when they were no hope of making the playoffs at all.
In the final weeks of last season, the Bunnies had dropped off the pace, and that’s exactly when Sutton played some of the best games of his career.
With the pressure off, the most dominant man in the Souths backline fired from all cylinders, showing exactly what he’s capable of.
And even though the pressure is very much on him this season as the man to lead Souths to the finals, Sutton is planning on playing like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
All the talk has been about the Rabbitohs’ all-star forward pack, but Sutton becoming the “ice man” will be what makes all the difference come September.
“Hopefully I can just play consistently like I did towards the end of last season, for the whole of this season. I’ll be pretty happy if I can do that,” Sutton told AAP.
“I didn’t change anything in particular (to spark last year’s late run of form).
“I guess we didn’t have a chance of making the semis towards the end and I was just playing a bit of footy, no pressure or anything.”
In 2009 Sutton played as consistently as he ever has, but there was still the odd game when he was off the boil.
He’s determined to make that a thing of the past this year, knowing that keeping up appearances is what delivers State of Origin jumpers.
The powerfully built 190cm, 100kg Sutton believes using his size and running more this year will be key to his success.
“I think if I’m running the ball first before I’m thinking about passing it, I feel better about myself and I tend to play a bit better,” he said.
“I just want to get out there early and have a few runs early and worry about passing it later.
“If you play good consistent footy at the start of the season it sets you up for rep honours and that’s what I’ll be aiming to do.”
A neck injury interrupted Sutton’s off-season however the Souths junior got through last week’s trial match against Gold Coast, and is 100 per cent fit for Saturday’s Charity Shield clash with St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium.
Sutton is excited about playing behind the Rabbitohs’ monster pack which includes Roy Asotasi, Sam Burgess and Dave Taylor.
The 25-year-old is confident he and halfback Chris Sandow can develop a winning combination this season.
New coach John Lang has given the pair a licence to play to their instincts.
“The way Langy’s got me and Chrissy playing suits that,” he said.
“We’re going to see how it goes, but at the start we’re just going to have a free reign.
“Chris has been training really well and I’m sure he’s going to have a big season. He was disappointed in himself last year the way he played but he’s put all that behind him.”
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