Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles: Old foes square off

With a grand final berth on the line, the Rabbitohs are looking to bid farewell to Wayne Bennett and Adam Reynolds on a high note while Manly continue to ride the wave of one of the great individual seasons from Tom Trbojevic.

The Rabbitohs turned the finals series on its head with a shock win over Penrith in the opening week of the finals, ending the chances of another Panthers-Storm premiership decider.

Instead, South Sydney or Manly will advance from this Friday's clash at Suncorp Stadium following two sensational attacking performances from these clubs.

Earlier this season the Rabbitohs became the first team in premiership history to score 30 points in eight consecutive matches.

Even without suspended fullback Latrell Mitchell they managed to get the better of Penrith, the league's best defensive team, in the qualifying finals.

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Meanwhile, Manly became the first team to have three players score at least 20 tries this season in Trbojevic, Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick.

The Sea Eagles were missing their talismanic fullback in the only previous meeting between these sides in 2021, with Souths prevailing 26-12 in round 2.

But Manly are a different side since then, making this clash a particularly intriguing prospect with a huge prize up for grabs.

The rundown
Team news
Rabbitohs: Apart from suspended fullback Latrell Mitchell and winger Josh Mansour (knee), South Sydney are rested and at full strength for the preliminary final.

Sea Eagles: There were no injury issues for Manly in their win over the Roosters with coach Des Hasler enjoying the luxury of giving star duo Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans an early mark as the scoreline blew out to 42-6.

Key match-up
This could be the last hurrah as a Rabbitoh for Adam Reynolds, who is bound for the Broncos next season, and he's up against the incumbent Kangaroos No.7 Daly Cherry-Evans.

Both halfbacks have been instrumental in their team's success this year, Reynolds with his renowned long kicking game and sharpshooting ability while DCE's looping passes to his wide men have made Manly a try-scoring threat from anywhere on the field.

While the headlines will be focused on South Sydney's efforts to shut down Tom Trbojevic, this battle of the halfbacks could go a long way towards deciding this contest.

Stat attack
Manly goal-kicker Reuben Garrick is on the hunt for Hazem El Masri's record for the most points by an individual in a season, with 322.

The Bulldogs great scored 342 in the 2004 season with 16 tries and 139 goals, while Garrick has 21 tries and 112 goals for the Sea Eagles in 2021.

 

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