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CURRENT POS: 11 POINTS: 19
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CURRENT POS: 16 POINTS: 12
Rabbitohs v Roosters | ANZ Stadium | Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:00
This will be the 199th time these two bitter rivals come head to head and while the Roosters’ season and week has been full of headlines and their finals hopes are non-existent, you can bet your bottom dollar they will fire up for this clash.
Yes they are done for the year and likely wooden spooners. Yes, their coach, good mate and club legend Brad Fittler has been shown the door at season’s end. And yes they have lost the reliable and inspirational captain Craig Fitzgibbon to injury.
But as South Sydney tries to pull a rabbit out of their hat in a late charge for the finals the Roosters would love nothing more than to pull their pants down and trip them up to quash their dreams.
The tri-colours are still in last place on the ladder, still a win away from the second-last Sharks but a horrible differential puts them effectively a win-and-a-half out of the spoon position.
The Rabbitohs, thanks to a last-up win over Brisbane, have moved up to 10th spot on the ladder and are now just three points from the top eight. Should they manufacture a win here they could quite easily be just one point shy of the finals zone with time up their sleeve to find a way; however a loss could just as easily have them scrambling with the also-rans once more.
Souths coach Jason Taylor has stuck with the side that demolished Brisbane, with the only addition being the return of Michael Crocker on an extended bench.
For the Roosters, Fitzgibbon’s place at lock will be taken by Shane Shackleton who moves from prop while Lopini Paea comes into the front row.
In huge news for the club, Anthony Minichiello returns from his broken ankle to captain the side on the wing, with Sandor Earl making way.
Anthony Cherrington is also out of the side that fell to the Warriors last week, with Sia Soliola and Rohan Ahern coming onto the bench.
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