Souths coach John Lang. Photo: Mark Evans

How will South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach John Lang possibly fit the pieces of his top 17 players together prior to the NRL first round match against the Roosters this Sunday.

Lang said players like Roy Asotasi, Issac Luke, Luke Stuart. Chris Sandow and John Sutton in the halves were the building blocks of the team. Add players with experience like Colin Best and Michael Crocker and you start to get the look and feel for the side.

Lang; who has five players with international experience with Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and Tonga, and three that have played State of Origin for Queensland; says players who have been there and done that are foremost in his thinking.

“I tend to lean towards experienced players,” Lang said.

“But that doesn’t mean that I discount young up-and-coming players.

“I think with the trials at the start of the year, the experienced players need to show they should be in the side, and the young guys have to challenge for spots in the side.”

The Rabbitohs’ ominous looking forward pack has been one of the talking points of the 2010 pre-season. The introduction of Englishman Sam Burgess and Queenslanders David Taylor and Ben Ross into the squad has steeled the South Sydney pack.

However, Lang admits that putting all of these players into position is a mini-jigsaw puzzle in itself.

“We’re really fortunate that guys like Dave (Taylor) and Sam (Burgess) can play front row or back row,” Lang says.

“Basically, the balance of the side will dictate where they play.

“The other players in the forward pack need to show they want a spot in the pack.

“We have 15 or 16 forwards in our squad, and we will play nine or ten of those in each game.

“By having flexibility in the positions our guys can play, and the options this gives us, it allows players who are in form to force their way into the team into the best position for them.

“We’ve got Ben Ross, Scott Geddes, Roy Asotasi, Luke Stuart and Garret Crossman who are front rowers, but then we have Taylor and Burgess who can play front or back row.

“We have Issac Luke and Beau Falloon who are our hookers and the rest of the guys are basically back rowers. We have a guy like Michael Crocker that will return early in the season and will have to force his way into the team.

“If a couple of the back rowers are playing really strongly then we can play guys like Burgess and Taylor up front. It works the other way too in that if we have guys going really well in the front row then we have the option of playing these guys in the back row.

“Basically no one is locked out of the side and everyone has a chance to feature in first grade this season.”

“It’s going to be a tough pack to make, but competition for spots is always healthy.

“They’re tough decisions to make, but it’s better to have these options than not.”

With the hype surrounding the forward pack of the Rabbitohs this season, some ‘experts’ of the game have questioned the potency of the Rabbitohs backline, clearly forgetting it was this backline that topped the number of tries scored in the NRL last season with 103, which rocketed the Rabbitohs’ points-for tally past 500 for the first time in the Club’s history.

Lang says the season will naturally sort out the make-up of the backline.

“The season will look after where these guys play,” Lang said.

“People will get opportunities.

“We have options at the back with Rhysy (Wesser), Nathan (Merritt) and Rocky (Luke Capewell) all vying for the number one jersey.

“I think Nathan Merritt is a world-class winger but he showed last year when Rhys was unavailable that he is also a talented fullback.

“I also believe that Rocky’s best position is fullback.”

“I think our halves are pretty set with Sutto (John Sutton) and Chrissy (Sandow) and we have some depth there now with Eddie Paea signing with the North Sydney Bears. The Bears and our 20s are all part of the same puzzle that we’re talking about here.”

Lang says it was pleasing to see the team score plenty of tries last year, but it still did not propel them to the finals.

“We scored a lot of tries but we got beaten in tight, low-scoring games,” Lang explained.

“We piled on the points against Brisbane, the Roosters twice, Manly, the Dragons, Penrith. But we also lost to the Dogs twice in close games, drew one and lost one to the Eels, both games against the Titans were close.

“These are the games we need to learn to win.”

It’s not just new personnel on the field that has Lang’s mind ticking over since taking the reins in September last year.

A new look coaching and training staff has meant changes have occurred in the way training is conducted, affecting both the players and the staff at Australian Technology Park Performance Centre.

“It’s all part of the same puzzle,” Lang said.

“For me, I didn’t come in with a definite idea of how I would do things.

“It’s something that we’ve worked on as a coaching team, and it’s worked well I think.

“I give people autonomy in their areas. Errol (Alcott), Grant (Duthie) and Eddie (Farah) look after the strength and conditioning and medical, Gordie (Tallis) works with the forwards and Kurt (Wrigley) does most of the skills work. But in saying that we all work together on our plans and what we want to achieve out of each session.

“Kurt is my assistant coach and it’s an ongoing thing with Kurt and me. He looks after most of the skills and drills and games, and he has input into everything we do. We work out what we want to achieve and he comes back with plans and games and ideas.

“He brought in Andrew Gorton who is working with the players on defensive techniques. He works exclusively with our Club which I think is a big advantage for us this season. He worked with Kurt at St George Illawarra and he really understands the game of Rugby League and what the players need to work on and what he can adjust in their game.

“Kurt also looks after kicking for us, and also works with Zane Campbell, our sprint coach. Zane comes in twice a week and his work focuses on conditioning and technique. I personally think it’s a good idea to keep our experienced players running as fast as they can, and work with the younger guys on their technique to get the most speed out of them too.”

“Then we have Gorden who comes in every Tuesday to work with the forwards, but really he has involvement with the whole squad. He has his thoughts on how we should do things and he’s up to speed on what we’ve been working on and the way we do things.

“In saying that he also has the autonomy to work with the team on areas he feels need adjusting with a view to the overall picture. He’s very hands on and we have similar philosophies on the game.”

Lang says everything is going swimmingly on field at this stage of the pre-season, yet the off-field work and attitude of the players is equally as important. He couldn’t be any more pleased with the approach of his charges to their responsibilities away from the field of play.

“It’s all part of it,” Lang explains.

“Our guys have a terrific attitude to the off-field responsibilities of being a professional footballer.

“They’ve really taken it on as part of their job and they do it all in the right spirit.

“They all want to get involved because, particularly with the Souths Cares activities, they know they are making a difference to people and they are enjoying the work they’re doing.

“It’s a bit like jumping into a pool. At first it can feel a bit cold but once you get into it you really enjoy it.

“The off-field side of things has become a real positive at the Club.”

Lang says every side he has coached has leaders, whether they be the hardened stalwart up front leading by example, or the yappy half that guides his troops around the park.

But Lang says this group of players does not have a stand-out leader, which is not a bad thing.

“It’s sort of funny you know. In many ways they’re an egalitarian sort of group,” Lang said.

“It really depends on what they’re doing as to who takes the lead.

“Sometimes you find that the more experienced players have more influence on others, but there’s an enthusiasm and spontaneity amongst the young guys which can spark a direction.

“For example it’s hard to feel tired around Eddy Pettybourne. He’s always smiling and always full of energy. He can be regarded as a leader by lifting the mood of the place when they’re working particularly hard.

“Then you have someone like John Sutton, who whenever we are playing practice games, he goes straight into scheming mode so he can get the most out of the flexibility of the rules for his team.

“With the off-field activities it seems to me that it’s been a reverse influence, with the younger guys like Jamie Simpson and Dave Tyrrell influencing the experienced players to get involved and make a difference.

“It’s more than a few blokes leading and the others following. With this squad it’s more of a stampede with them all heading in the same direction.”

So has Lang worked out how to put together the puzzle?

“It’s a bit like a witch’s brew. You add different ingredients but you’re never quite sure what the recipe is until you get the end result.

“That’s why the balance of youth and experience is important.”