Source: The Daily Telegraph
SOUTH Sydney have an identity crisis on their hands: they have a monster forward with the skills of a halfback, and a halfback who plays like a prop. Tiny No. 7 Chris Sandow let the rabbit out of the bag yesterday when he admitted he wished he had been born with a front-rower's physique.
It's why the 78kg Sandow likes to shoulder charge some of the game's biggest players at breakneck speed.
Rabbitohs coach John Lang wants his talented halfback to cut the shoulder charge out of his game but Sandow says it's a habit hard to break.
At the other end of the South Sydney player weight scale is 120kg behemoth Dave Taylor, who has never forgotten his days in junior footy at five-eighth.
While his powerhouse charges and strong defence have been impressive, he has also set up a try with a delicate grubber, chip-kicked ahead and tried to regather, and thrown swivel-hipped passes in matches this season.
It has prompted veteran coach Lang to say wryly: "Let's talk about Dave's runs or his tackles - not his kicks in play, or his field goals at training."As Taylor practised torpedo bombs at Redfern Oval this week, Sandow said of his shoulder charges: "I always think I'm 120kg like Dave Taylor, but it's not me.
"Langy has spoken to me about it a few times now, and in a few years it probably won't be in my game any more, but I love to do it when I get fired up.
"I'm sure the big guys will knock me on my backside soon, but I love the tough stuff. I get excited. I have done since I was a kid.
"I sometimes wish I was a forward, but I've got the tricks of a halfback and will leave it to the others to go forward."
The popular 21-year-old maintains Souths are capable of winning a premiership.
"I think the main thing we need to work on is finishing teams off as well as we know we can," Sandow said.
"We need to do everything for 80 minutes.
"If we can complete our sets and hold the ball we'll be tough to stop."
Arguably unlucky to be sitting only seventh on the ladder after controversial recent narrow losses, the Rabbitohs face a moment of truth against the front-running Dragons at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night.
Lang has named an unchanged squad for the Dragons hitout, including Mick Crocker who looked strong in only his second game of the season against the Roosters. Utility Jason Clark is in doubt with a shoulder complaint with Dave Tyrrell on standby.