'Glory Glory to South Sydney'

   It's probably a fitting day to add this gem! I don't really relate to the 'Pride of the League' tag but this foundation club has the most Premierships at 20. It's just that the last of those was now 42 years ago. I inherited my following of the Rabbitohs from my cousins. I even had to wear a Balmain jersey so we had two sides in our backyard games. This was particularly so we could re-enact the 1969 debacle in our commentary. The year Balmain beat Souths but the story is they 'lay down' injured to slow the game and run the clock down!! Ask any old supporter!!
   These t-shirts were available as part of Rugby League's Centenary Celebrations. Although I've gone on to be more of a Rugby Union tragic in intervening years, the Finals always enliven my interest.
   Simms, Branigan, Sattler, Coote, McCarthy, Walters, Cleary, Longbottom, O'Neill and so many more... The side was broken up when Manly poached some of their international rep players in the 70s and it's never been the same... 1989 was heartbreaking as Minor Premiers then 'out' in straight Finals losses. Being removed from the competition and the fight to get back in has taken a long time to get over. This weekends loss to Manly will hurt and demonstrates that they need one or two more pieces to the puzzle and an ability for their halves to be not just precise when it's going well, but dominant when they meet other top sides.
   I have a 'soft spot' for the Newcastle Knights since their arrival here at a lean time for the Bunnies but there's no question who I'd have been cheering for in a Knights v Rabbitohs Grand Final!!
   I wrote to Russell Crowe a couple of years ago to express my thanks for his passion and our somewhat shared history of waiting for this team to re-emerge and how I understood that 'he got it' when it comes to Souths and isn't grandstanding... there's always next year!!