Round 9: Rabbitohs v Panthers preview
Demetriou gone, Hornby at the helm for Penrith challenge
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are in dire straits and it's not going to get any easier, facing the Penrith Panthers at Sydney Olympic Park to open round nine this Thursday night. The Bunnies are sitting in dead last, failing to utilise their bye two weeks ago to regroup before facing the Storm in Melbourne last week, to whom they lost 54-20. The Panthers are trundling along comfortably in third and are shaping yet again as premiership favourites as we hit a third of the way through the season.
Jason Demetriou's name has been in the headlines for weeks now, so much so that this sentence had to be re-written from saying it's a shock that he is still at the helm, to now acknowledging his sacking, effective immediately. Ben Hornby holds the reins in the interim. Down 32-4 at half-time against Melbourne last week, the Rabbitohs were lucky to not have a worse full-time scoreline, managing to scrape together 20 points thanks to a Jacob Gagai double. They face arguably an even tougher opposition this Thursday, and with everything going on off-field it's hard to imagine them getting themselves together in order to challenge Penrith.
Fullback Latrell Mitchell remains sidelined through suspension, with young Jye Gray keeping the number one jersey in his absence. Izaac Tu'itupou Thompson replaces the suspended Taane Milne on the wing. Keaon Koloamatangi's front row experiment continues, lining up in the number 8, whilst Michael Chee Kam is elevated to a starting second row spot. Tom Burgess will start on the bench with Davvy Moale alongside Koloamatangi as the starting props.
Despite scoring early through Brian To'o last week, Penrith found themselves challenged by a Cowboys side that came out of the break firing. Nathan Cleary's kicking boots proved the difference in the end in his first game back from injury, with the two sides both crossing the stripe for four tries each. The 26-20 scoreline kept Panthers fans on the edge of their seats, but ultimately the Cowboys were unable to chase them down.
Sunia Turuva was a late scratching from last week's match, shortly after he put pen to paper with rival club the Wests Tigers. He returns to his wing position this weekend, forcing Paul Alamoti out of the 17. Moses Leota is back after a short sideline stint due to injury.
Penrith have won five of their past six games against South Sydney.
Last meeting: Round 8 2023 - Rabbitohs 20 Panthers 18
Who to watch: 20 year old Jye Gray finds himself in the number one jersey for his third top grade game of the year. Currently serving the Rabbitohs as a Latrell Mitchell back-up, it's expected that Gray will return to the fullback role in NSW Cup once Mitchell's suspension comes to an end. A product of the QRL's junior pathways, Gray was signed with the Broncos prior to joining the Bunnies. He also appeared in Queensland's U-19 Origin side in 2022, featuring as the five-eighth in a 32-4 loss to NSW at Leichhardt Oval. With uncertainty rife at the Rabbitohs, Latrell Mitchell has been facing growing scrutiny. Gray will be eager to use his precious minutes in the spotlight to show why he's the future of the Rabbitohs number one jersey.
Second row forward Mavrik Geyer's NRL career is still in its infancy at Penrith, having made his first grade debut back in round four of this season. The 23 year old was called back into the top 17 last week, playing 25 minutes off the bench against the Cowboys, and he has retained his spot in the NRL side for this Thursday night. Although mostly playing in the second row, Geyer has also made starting appearances as a prop in reserve grade, and lined up as a centre just two weeks ago in NSW Cup. A Penrith junior, Geyer worked his way through the pathways to make his open age debut only a little over two years ago. Mavrik will be keen to show that he is yet another excellent example of the Panthers pathway system.
Favourite: Panthers are the heavy favourites to overcome the last-placed Bunnies, and the off-field dramas at South Sydney certainly doesn't do them any favours.
My tip: At Accor to start the round, Penrith should have plenty of confidence to get the job done. I can't see a single reason why the Rabbitohs could be expected to win this match. Penrith by 16.
