The Chook Pen

Written by Peter Liaros

As the first game of the NRL’s 103rd season gets underway, the 200th battle between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters just begins to fire up.

Anything is better than 2009

2009 was a much better season in comparison to previous seasons for the Rabbitohs, finishing tenth and only missing out on a top-eight finish by two points, thanks to a late season surge made by eventual Grand Finalists, the Parramatta Eels.

On the other hand, the Sydney Roosters had their worst season since 1966 and received the wooden spoon with a mere 14 points. Any kind of improvement, whether getting 16 points this year or moving to fifteenth in the end, was all that was hoped for by Roosters supporters at the end of last season.

Up steps Brian Smith… and Todd Carney

The 2010 pre-season was extremely eventful for the Roosters, winning three out of their four games, with all three being convincing wins over the Eels, Tigers and Todd Carney’s previous club, the Atherton Roosters, and it wasn’t a surprise who starred for the Roosters in all three matches.

If form of player’s is anything to go by from this pre-season into the regular season, then you would be safe in saying that Todd Carney would get Dally M Player of the Year… and Mitchell Pearce getting close. The combination between the two players was a site to behold, and a good sign for things to come.

The downside to the Roosters’ pre-season was the loss of players to injury. The Roosters’ were hit with the news that Jared Waerea-Hargreaves would be out for the opening few rounds, Anthony Cherrington would be out for the season due to the rupturing of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the club’s final trial match against the Eels.

Is Sam Burgess the ‘Real Deal’?

The Rabbitohs’ also had their fair share of injuries during the pre-season, with outside back Chris McQueen also re-rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and is also expected to be out for the rest of the season. The Rabbitohs’ may also be without club captain Roy Asotasi may miss the first few weeks of the season after getting a reconstruction in round 22 last year.

On the other hand, the Rabbitohs’ pre-season wasn’t as good as the Roosters’, but still good enough to warrant a good match against the Roosters to open the season. The Rabbitohs’ annual pre-season Charity Shield match against the Dragons, ended up as a stalemate, meaning they were able to hang on to the shield, thanks to a conversion miss in the late stages of the game by ex-Rooster Jamie Soward.

Sam Burgess provided some food for thought when he played for the NRL All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars in the first representative match of the season, where he played some good football, but not as good as what was heard when the Bunnies played their first pre-season game as Redfern. Everyone thinks his great… but is he that great? I think we’ll be able to tell after the full time whistle sounds at the ANZ Stadium.

Form Guide

South Sydney Rabbitohs

February 27, 2010 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 26 drew. St. George Illawarra Dragons 26
February 21, 2010 – Gold Coast Titans 28 def. South Sydney Rabbitohs 22
February 7, 2010 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 42 def. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 12
September 5, 2009 – Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 24 def. by South Sydney Rabbitohs 26
August 29, 2009 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 46 def. St. George Illawarra Dragons 6

Sydney Roosters

February 27, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 40 def. Parramatta Eels 14
February 21, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 28 def. Wests Tigers 10
February 13, 2010 – New Zealand Warriors 26 def. Sydney Roosters 8
February 12, 2010 – Atherton Roosters 18 def. by Sydney Roosters 68
September 6, 2009 – Sydney Roosters 16 def. by North Queensland Cowboys 32

Head to Head

Played: 199
Rabbitohs Wins: 105
Roosters Wins: 89
Drawn: 5

Last Match:
July 27, 2009 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 40 def. Sydney Roosters 20

Team News

South Sydney Rabbitohs

Ben Ross is out for the first round blockbuster and Chris McQueen was ruled out for the season. Roy Asotasi is welcomed back for the Bunnies.

Squad: Roy Asotasi, Colin Best, Sam Burgess, Luke Capewell, Beau Champion, Jason Clark, Shane Corrigan, Michael Crocker, Garret Crossman, Beau Falloon, Dylan Farrell, Scott Geddes, Ben Lowe, Isaac Luke, Shannan McPherson, Nathan Merritt, Eddy Pettybourne, Chris Sandow, Jamie Simpson, Luke Stuart, John Sutton, Fetuli Talanoa, David Taylor, Dave Tyrrell, Taioalo Vaivai, Rhys Wesser.

Sydney Roosters

The Roosters welcome back Braith Anasta from injury who will slot straight into his usual slot of five-eighth and sending Ben Jones to the bench. Sam Perrett has been given the all clear to play after getting over his shoulder injury and Jason Ryles will make his debut for the Roosters.

Squad: Braith Anasta, James Aubusson, Mitchell Aubusson, Jason Baitieri, Cheyse Blair, Todd Carney, Daniel Conn, Boyd Cordner, JP Du Plessis, Liam Foran, Jonathan Ford, Aiden Guerra, Ben Jones, Martin Kennedy, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Nick Kouparitsas, Joseph Leilua, Kane Linnett, Mose Masoe, Anthony Minichiello, Steve Naughton, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Lopini Paea, Mitchell Pearce, Sam Perrett, Jason Ryles, Tom Symonds, Brad Takairangi, Luke Towers, Sonny Tuigamala, Ryan Williamson.

Players to Watch

South Sydney Rabbitohs – Sam Burgess

This man needs to live up to his name. After being signed up by the Rabbitohs, he has shown the rest of the Rugby League that he may be the meanest Englishman in Australia (Gareth Ellis might have something to say about that). Expect him to have a big game, with all the added pressure from the media and the expectations placed on him as a big hitting player, it will surely put fuel to his fire.

Sydney Roosters – Todd Carney

After having a flawless pre-season, expect Carney to play even better now with the actual season going underway. His link up with the rest of the team, with Pearce even more so, was phenomenal during the games against the Tigers in the Foundation Cup and the Eels in the Gosford double header. He scored 16 points in both games, and if he continues the way he is playing, or even bettering that, there’s no reason why he couldn’t score more.

Mouth-watering Match Ups

Isaac Luke vs. James Aubusson

Both players have the skill and the pace to beat players from dummy half, but it all comes down to who is better on the day. Both will be putting in their all for their team, and this match up will affect the final score line of the match.

Nate Myles vs. Sam Burgess

The battle of the big men. Sam Burgess must prove his worth (and his name) and Nate Myles must prove he should still be worth giving a contract after some bad incidents last year. Both will want to start the game with a bang, expect fireworks.

Rhys Wesser vs. Todd Carney

Wesser in his first competitive match for almost a year will be wanting to give back to the Bunnies what they have done for him during his time of injury, while Carney also owes the Roosters for throwing him an NRL lifeline. Both will want to be involved in the game, so expect a lot of ball floating to them.

What the Chookpen forum members think

From the viewpoint of Chookpen forum members, many think the Rooster’s will do a good job, with 85.51% choosing the Roosters and a mere 14.49% going with the Bunnies. Of all the voters, 59.42% of the votes went towards a Roosters win with a margin of 1-12 and only 5.80% going for the reverse score line. Here is what a few of the voters thought:

“If we get in front early we’ll flog them.” Rooster Cogburn

“I think we’ll win by a margin of 1-12. They might look better on paper, but on form we seem to be running hot at the very moment. Our backs are capitalising on the go forward provided by our big men up front, namely Frank Paul Nuuausala and Lopini Paea. Add Jason Ryles to the mix and we’re looking pretty strong across the park. Shaun Kenny-Dowall is looking the goods too.” footy

“Their forward pack looks good on PAPER, but if our forwards get on top of them.. Pearce & Carney will have a field day.” Chris

“I think it basically depends on Brian Smith choosing the correct tactics, as well as Carney and Pearce continuing their form ie (tactical kicking, making their big forwards constantly turn around) and whether our players are able to carry out the instructions on the field, it hasn’t helped us to any extent that we’ve had so many pre-season injuries to some very key players, but as long as the team puts in a whole hearted effort for 80 mins. we can’t really ask for more than that….” Ozzie Rooster

“We need to beat Souths out wide. The Charity Shield game revealed their vulnerability in defence on the edges. Our trial form has been heavily dependent upon playing the fringes in attack, having our back rowers running out wide, and having players like Pearce and Carney sniffing for gaps or rushing defence. Considering we have a fairly light weight pack (particularly in the back row), we aren’t going to compete with Souths up the guts. So we need to play to our strengths, exploit their defensive weakness and focus on using our mobility compared to their muscle.” Kramer86

Prediction

The Rooster’s had a solid pre-season, while the Bunnies were all over the place. They may have the bigger men, but the Rooster’s have the faster ones. If the Rooster’s get out to an early lead, and continue to attack the Rabbitohs flanks throughout, there could be a hefty scoreline, but if the Bunnies are forced into a lot of goal-line defending, it will be hard for the Roosters to score points. Look for the Rooster’s to put some bombs up on either wing.

Sydney Roosters by 1-12