Round 13: Rabbitohs v Broncos preview
Brisbane search for breakthrough win as Bunnies eye top-eight berth
While Anthony Seibold has been the one copping the heat for his role in Brisbane's collapse in 2020, Wayne Bennett has escaped relatively unscathed.
Why wouldn't he? He's known as the supercoach for a reason.
In saying this, after guiding the Rabbitohs to a preliminary final exit last year, South Sydney look a shadow of their former selves.
The loss of some big names up front have taken its toll and that was to be expected.
But the Rabbitohs don't seem to have adapted - to both those gaps in their roster and the new rules. Their 32-24 win over the Dragons was a relieving one that keeps them well and truly in the finals race.
At the same time though it did little to convince anyone that they are anything more than simple cannon fodder come the finals.
They did overcome a 16-0 deficit without halfback Adam Reynolds, who is named to play this week, so they do deserve credit in that respect.
Their opposition this week wouldn't have had the mental fortitude to fight back from that sort of deficit.
Brisbane continually seem like they are on the path to some form of redemption but when they are faced with adversity, they just crumble.
The Broncos were on track for a morale-boosting win against the Sharks before a late collapse saw them fall 36-26.
The signs are there - they defended four-straight sets on their own line in the second half to turn Cronulla away. But in some ways, it seems like they just don't believe they can close out games nor claw their way back in when facing early deficits.
David Fifita does make his long-awaited return this week while Anthony Milford is sidelined.
Last meeting: Round 2 2020 - Broncos 22 Rabbitohs 18
Who to watch: The battle of the fullbacks is an intriguing one. Latrell Mitchell has shown glimpses of his best at Souths but has struggled to consistently inject himself into games. Mitchell is at his best when he ups his involvement. This can at times lead to errors but those errors are never the result of a lack of effort. Against a Broncos team that is low on confidence and defensively vulnerable on the edges, this is the exact sort of game for Mitchell to really explode.
Meanwhile, Darius Boyd proved exactly what experience and composure can offer at the back for the Broncos. While the inclusion of Tom Dearden certainly helped Brisbane in attack, they were also buoyed by Boyd's return to the number one jersey. He finished the game with four try assists and just as many linebreak assists. Even if some of them didn't require anything special, it was indicative of his ability to ice opportunities. That all comes back to his experience.
The favourite: Souths are backed to keep their momentum going.
My tip: I fell into the trap of taking Brisbane to turn things around last week. It would be no surprise if they were able to stick with Souths for 60-odd minutes but the Broncos have the worst record of the competition in the final quarter of games. In that period, they have scored just 12 points and let in 130. I have the feeling that number will increase by the end of Friday night as the Rabbitohs race away with the win. Rabbitohs by 18.
