South Sydney Rabbitohs history

Early years

South Sydney was the third rugby league football club founded in Australia after Glebe and Newtown. In 1908 a rugby league competition began in Sydney with working-class clubs, including the South Sydney Rugby Union Club, leaving rugby union to play by the new rules adopted by the New South Wales Rugby League. The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club was founded on Friday 17 January 1908 at Redfern Town Hall when J J Giltinan was joined on the podium by cricketer Victor Trumper and politician Henry Clement Hoyle before a large crowd of supporters.

Souths took part in the first game of the inaugural competition when it started on Easter Monday, 20th April, 1908. They defeated North Sydney 11-7 at Birchgrove Oval. Souths won the inaugural Sydney premiership beating Eastern Suburbs 14-12 in the final and backed it up the following year in extraordinary circumstances when opponents Balmain refused to show up in protest of the final being played as a prelude to a Kangaroos v Wallabies match. South Sydney kicked off to no one and were declared premiers.

During these early years Arthur Hennessy was considered the "founding father" of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A hooker and prop forward, Hennessy was Souths' first captain and coach. He was also New South Wales' first captain and Australia's first test captain in 1908. He played 26 games for Souths between 1908 an 1911.South Sydney's playing jerseys sported cardinal red and myrtle green colours. Some sources have suggested that this combination of colours was due to the local rugby union club being nicknamed the "Redfern Waratahs". The first British inhabitants had often called the waratah a "red fern" instead, hence giving the suburb its name, and ultimately the local rugby club its emblem. Red and green dominate the colours of the waratah and hence, possibly, the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club adopted these colours for their jerseys. Prior to the establishment of the rugby league club in 1908, the earlier South Sydney rugby union club (which included Arthur Hennessy, South Sydney Rugby League club's first captain and coach), originally sported the famous red and green colours.

The most famous story of how the club got the "Rabbitohs" nickname comes from their rugby union days at the turn of the 20th century. During that period, players wearing their cardinal red and myrtle green football jumpers, earned some extra money on Saturday mornings by hawking rabbits around the district with the traditional cry of "Rabbitoh!" echoing through the narrow streets. As they made a sale, they would sling the bunny from their shoulder and skin it on the spot, inevitably accumulating some of the fur and blood on their jerseys as they did so. When they played in those blood stained jumpers that afternoon, opponents from wealthier rugby clubs did not always appreciate the aroma and would mockingly repeat the "Rabbitoh!" cry.

After further premierships in 1914 and 1918, Souths enjoyed the first of three golden premiership eras they would enjoy winning seven out of eight premierships from 1925-32, only missing out in 1930 where Wests broke through for their maiden premiership. Star players in Souths first golden era included five-eighth Alf "Smacker" Blair, Eddie Root, try scoring winger, Benny Wearing (144 career tries), Alf O'Connor and second row forward, George Treweek.In 1925 South's won 15 games straight to go through the first grade season undefeated. The 1925 team is still the only Souths team to go through the first grade season undefeated.

Such was Souths dominance in the early years of the rugby league competition that the Rabbitohs were labelled "The Pride of the League".

Premiership success evaded Souths between 1933-49 despite being runners up on four occasions before a new breed of Rabbitohs would make their mark on the game.

In 1948 Souths began playing their home games at Redfern Oval. Their first match there was a 19 all draw with Easts.

The 1950s golden era

After missing the semi finals for the previous four years, the Rabbitohs finished on top of the ladder at the end of the regular home and away season in 1949 ahead of Wests, St George and Balmain. However, they were beaten by St George twice; 16-12 in the first semi, then 19-12 in the grand final. In a rough game the Dragons had scored five tries to two. What followed, however was a run where they won five of the next six titles. Souths 12th premiership, their first in almost two decades, came in 1950, when they again finished as minor premiers. They disposed of Newtown 30-4 before beating Wests 21-15 in the final. 1951 was a remarkable year as Souths finished the regular season 11 points clear of nearest rivals Manly, whom they dispatched in a devastating display 42-14 in the premiership decider. The 42 points remains the highest score by a team in a grand final.

Souths were beaten in 1952 in a very controversial final against Western Suburbs 22-12 where Souths had a fair try disallowed. It was Wests 4th and final premiership. Leading the charge for Souths was captain Jack Rayner whose side included Les 'Chicka' Cowie, Johnny Graves, winger Ian Moir, Greg Hawick, Ernie Hammerton, goal-kicking forward Bernie Purcell and the great Clive Churchill.

In 1953, the Rabbitohs were once again minor premiers and narrowly beat Norths 5-4 in the first semi before a resounding victory over St George 31-12, with Churchill dominating the game. 1954 saw Newtown finish top of the ladder but they were beaten by Souths in the grand final 23-15.

The story of what Souths achieved in the season of 1955 is among the most famous in Australian sport. "The miracle of '55" was an epic fight in which the Rabbitohs won 11 virtual sudden-death matches in a row to steal the premiership. After the first match of the second round they had been equal second last on the ladder. In their incredible run home they came from behind in no less than five matches to win and earn themselves fourth spot and a place in the semi-finals. They beat Manly 14-12 in a desperate semi-final. They were down 14-11 in the final against St. George when in the dying minutes a try by winger Ian Moir and a pressure goal kicked by Bernie Purcell got them home. The grand final against Newtown was a fitting finale after such a season. Newtown led 11-7 with six minutes to go. But the never-say-die Souths scrambled a try to halfback, Col Donohoe and converted it through Purcell to complete the fairytale with a 12-11 last gasp victory.

1956 was the beginning of the Dragon era - Souths finished third on the ladder but their season came to an end one match short of the Grand Final losing to Balmain 36-33. The pattern continued in 1957 as they finished third again and finished their season in the final, this time losing to Manly 15-11. After this they missed the semis for almost a decade.

"The Little Master"

The heart and soul of the Rabbitohs in the 1950s was undoubtedly Clive Churchill. "The Little Master" as he was nicknamed by admirers was a courageous and genius fullback originally hailing from Newcastle. Souths signed him up as a youngster and he would be a central figure in two of Souths golden eras.

The legendary Rabbitoh revolutionised fullback play from the steadfast role of his era. He was small in physique but casts a shadow over all before and after him in the game. None can be compared for courage, tackling skill, positional play and attacking brilliance.

Churchill also captained Australia in a record 24 Test matches but strangely didn't captain Souths to a premiership. Churchill played 34 Tests for Australia and the 1954 World Cup series. For six years he was Australia's captain, including three series against Great Britain. Churchill played his final test for Australia on the 1956-57 Kangaroo Tour. He finished playing with South Sydney after being captain-coach for the 1958 season.

After being the main player in Souths golden run between 1950-55, Churchill was back as coach in 1967 to help end the dominance of St. George and steer the Rabbitohs to their final four premierships.

Churchill is regarded by many as the greatest ever Australian Rugby League player. Churchill lost his battle with cancer in 1985 aged 58. In memory of Churchill, a stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground was named after him, a place where he achieved many of his finest feats and acts of courage for South Sydney and Australia. On grand final day, the best performed player in the grand final is awarded the prestigious "Clive Churchill Medal".

The 1960s and 1970s glory years

After their second golden era ended in 1955, the club had to wait a decade before making another premiership decider in 1965, and premiership in 1967. The remarkable St. George era of 11 consecutive premierships was sandwiched in between two special periods in the history of South Sydney. Churchill came back to coach the Rabbitohs and built a premiership team around a tough pack of forwards including Ron Coote (who is regarded as Australia's second best ever lock, after Johnny Raper), Bob McCarthy (who scored over 100 first grade tries), Gary Stevens, Bob Moses, John O'Neill, Jim Morgan, Elwyn Walters and inspirational captain John Sattler. Signs that a great Souths side was in the making emerged in 1965 when a then record crowd of 78,056 supporters packed the SCG to see a young Souths team coached by Bernie Purcell take on the mighty St. George in the grand final. The club had finished fourth and had then beaten Parramatta and Norths to make the Grand Final. Souths had already beaten Saints twice during the 1965 season and the huge crowd showed up expecting to see an end to the Dragons' decade of dominance. Souths showed great heart in going down 12-8 in one of the most memorable grand finals of all time.

Souths would win four of the next five premierships between 1967 and 1971. In the 1967 grand final Souths beat Canterbury 12-10 following a spectacular intercept try by second row forward Bob McCarthy. In 1968 Souths defeated Manly 13-9 featuring a solo length of the field try by winger Mike Cleary. Souths lost the 1969 grand final 11-2 to Balmain who devised a controversial plan of "go slow" tactics in order to successfully disrupt Souths play. Souths convincingly beat Manly in the 1970 grand final with halfback Bob Grant starring with 2 tries. Souths last grand final victory in 1971 saw them beat back a determined comeback by St. George in the second half to take out the game 16-10. During this golden era Souths backline also had plenty of class including goal kicking legend Eric Simms, dual rugby internationals Michael Cleary and Jimmy Lisle, Paul Sait, Bob Honan, Brian James, brothers Ray and Arthur Branighan, Dennis Pittard and Bob Grant. Only Arthur Branighan didn't achieve International status of the 1970 grand final side that beat Manly 23-12. Souths was a team of plenty of courage and that was highlighted by captain John Sattler in the 1970 grand final when in the early minutes he was "king-hit" late and unexpectedly by Manly prop John Bucknall. The hit broke Sattler's jaw but he continued to play on for the full match and to inspirationally lead by example.

Goal-kicking fullback Eric Simms broke many point scoring records during this period, scoring a total of 1,841 first grade points (23 tries, 803 goals, 86 field goals) for the club by the end of his career. In 1969 Simms broke the record for the most points scored in a premiership season with 265, previously held by Dave Brown of Eastern Suburbs. Simms was such a great exponent of kicking field goals (including 5 in one game against Penrith in 1969) that in season 1971 the game's authorities eventually reduced the value of the field goal from two points to one.

International five-eighth Denis Pittard won the coveted Rothmans Medal twice in 1969 and 1971.

Hard times and an 1980s revival

Financial problems started to hit Souths and key players from their grand final sides of the early '70s headed to either Manly (John O'Neill, Ray Branighan, Bob Moses) or Easts (Ron Coote, Michael Cleary, Elwyn Walters) where both those clubs achieved some success after buying the champions Souths produced. Manly were winless until 1972 while Easts hadn't won a premiership since 1945. Souths Leagues Club's doors were closed in 1973 but a 'Save Our Souths' campaign ensured the Rabbitohs survived. They went through tough times but always found a way to get by through tremendous spirit and hard workers.

Things began to turn around in 1978 when under new coach Jack Gibson, Souths won the pre-season competition (10-3 over Canterbury) and finished the season second in the club championship.

Souths star player in the late '70s was the powerful Australian representative winger Terry Fahey, affectionately known to fans as the "Redfern Express". Utility back Robert 'Rocky' Laurie won the prestigious 'Dally M' award in 1980. Souths only trophies in the 1980s were the win over Cronulla in the final of the mid-week Tooth Cup competition in 1981 and victory in the pre-season 'Sevens' competition in 1988. In the premiership Souths made the semi-finals in 1980, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1989, a year in which they were runaway minor premiers and also took out the Club Championship.

1980 saw the Rabbitohs make the semis the first time for a few years, finishing fifth, but were promptly knocked out of the finals series by St George 16-5. Ron Willey became coach in 1983, and the next year Souths made the semis. Souths came from 0-14 behind to beat Manly 22-18 in a memorable first semi final but were knocked out the following week by St. George, but their best two years were 1986 and 1989 under the leadership of Mario Fenech. The Rabbitohs just missed out on the minor premiership in 1986 and then sadly lost both semi finals to Canterbury and Balmain to be bundled out.

Souths led from basically start to finish in 1989 remarkably not losing a single match away from the Sydney Football Stadium. Souths finished the regular season on 37 points with 18 wins and a draw, losing only 3 games along the way. However, come finals time, they lost a classic semi-final to Balmain and Canberra a week later powered home to end Souths best chance of getting back to the glory years.

Apart from hooker and captain Fenech, Souths stars during this period included forwards Les Davidson and Ian Roberts, halfback Craig Coleman and mercurial five-eighth Phil Blake.

The Troubled 1990s and Exclusion

More troubles hit Souths in the 1990s where they went from minor premiers in 1989 to wooden spooners in 1990. It was tough times but led from the front by George Piggins, Souths again just did enough to survive in the competition but much of the time made up the bottom of the ladder. They played some enterprising footy at times and in 1994 took out the pre-season competition defeating two-time premiers Brisbane 27-26 in the final.

In 1996 Souths played their last ever first-grade match at Redfern. They beat the South Queensland Crushers 48-16.

However, lack of funds saw Souths unable to keep their top players (including captain Mario Fenech, Les Davidson, Mark Carroll and Craig Field) and a lot of talented young juniors were lost and went on to represent Australia from other clubs (these included Jim Dymock, Ian Roberts, Jim Serdaris, Terry Hill and later Craig Wing and Braith Anasta when the club was excluded from the competition).

The outbreak of the Super League war was going to affect the future of Souths with the vision to cut Sydney sides with Souths in the firing line. Refusing to merge or drop out, the National Rugby League (a merger of Super League and ARL) cut South Sydney from the premiership for the 2000 season. The NRL set a bar of 14-teams and with 15 applicants, Souths were the team to miss out. Souths were finally starting to show some promise and strong management in 1999 when the cut came.

Fightback and Re-admission

Souths fought their way back through the court rooms and public rallies generating a swell of support throughout Sydney and Australia as they took on the heavies at the NRL and News Limited. Souths won re-admission on appeal during the 2001 season and were brought back into the NRL competition for the 2002 season.

The Comeback, 2002-04 Seasons

After being ousted from the NRL league competition in 1999, the Rabbitohs were granted re-admission in 2002 after court action. Not surprisingly, after having to create an entirely new team for the season, the Rabbitohs were not at their former best and performed disappointingly during their return season. Be that as it may, they did manage to notch up wins over various clubs, including two over Canberra. 2003 saw the team finish as wooden spooners, but they did acquire various new players including Bryan Fletcher, Ashley Harrison, Justin Smith, Luke MacDougall and Mark Minichello. Sadly, 2004 was another less-than-successful campaign on the field. Off the field, however, the league world was shocked by the announcement that Penrith CEO Shane Richardson would be quitting his post there to join the Rabbitohs.

Richardson had previously led the Penrith Panthers football club to their second ever Premiership in 2003 against the Sydney Roosters.

At the time Richardson said words to the effect of "bringing this club back to its previous success will be the challenge of my life. It will be tough, but I expect this club to be competing in the NRL finals in 2008"

2005 Season

The Rabbitohs' first win of the season was a 49-26 triumph over the Parramatta Eels in Round 2.

The Rabbitohs would be winless again until Round 5, when they defeated the Newcastle Knights 37-12 at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, before a crowd of 16,162.

For the next eight rounds, the Rabbitohs suffered loss after loss to the NRL juggernauts (including form teams Melbourne, Brisbane and Manly with the only relief being the bye in Round 8. After a promising start, Season 2005 was shaping up much like the last few years for the Rabbitohs.

However Round 13 against the Bulldogs was to prove a turning point in the club's season. Souths held the reigning premiers to a shock 21-all draw, and thereafter, momentum suddenly seemed to be swinging back the Bunnies' way. A week later they hammered Manly 44-6, and though they went on to lose three more consecutively after that (including a second to arch-rivals St George Illawarra Dragons), they bounced back to win 5 of their last 6, beginning with a 24-14 win over Cronulla at the Sydney Football Stadium, and highlighted with a spirited 16-14 downing of the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville. Finally overcoming the Bulldogs in Round 21, the Rabbitohs also defeated the Sydney Roosters in Sydney 17-16 in a hard fought and spiteful encounter.

All in all, Season 2005 was the most promising since re-admission; under coach Shaun McRae the team were beginning to look like a renewed force. Their reasonably strong finish handed the bottom place on the NRL ladder to the Newcastle Knights, therefore avoiding the horrible fate of receiving three wooden-spoons in a row. Their last match was against the Sharks at Toyota Stadium. Souths won this in convincing fashion, with young five-eighth John Sutton making a significant impression.

South Sydney finished the 2005 season level on 23 premiership points with 2004 premiers the Canterbury Bulldogs.

2006 Season

Souths acquired many sound players for 2006 including Joe Gulavao, Stuart Webb, Jaiman Lowe and Ben Rogers. They also re-signed key five-eighth/lock John Sutton for several years.

Despite coming close, Souths were yet to score a win after round ten but had showed significant progress. One area of weakness nominated by fans included the half back position. An injury to regular half-back Ben Walker took a heavy toll in the teams performances. Players who have made a big impact in a losing side included David Fa'alogo (a New Zealand International) and Nathan Merritt. Merritt finished the season as the NRL's leading try scorer with 22 tries.

David Peachey came to the club after being sacked by his English club Widnes. On 11 June 2006, in his second match for the Rabbitohs, Peachey steered the bottom of the table Souths to their first win of the 2006 season with a commanding 34-14 win over the second placed Brisbane Broncos. This was Souths first win over the Broncos since 1989.

On 25 June Souths suffered their worst defeat ever, going down 66-0 to the New Zealand Warriors at Telstra Stadium. In a rare move, this catastrophic result moved the club to make a full and unreserved apology to their fans through the nation's press, in direct letters to members and through the electronic media. Souths finished the season in last place.

On 30 August, 2006 Jason Taylor was appointed head coach in place of Shaun McRae for seasons 2007 and 2008.

2007 Season

The Rabbitohs announced a series of big-name player signings for season 2007 including Roy Asotasi and Daniel Irvine (prop and hooker from the Bulldogs), David Kidwell (back row forward from Melbourne), Nigel Vagana (centre from Cronulla), Dean Widders (utility forward from Parramatta) and Jeremy Smith (half-back from Parramatta). Of these, Roy Asotasi, was extremely popular with fans as he is currently considered by many as one of the top three prop forwards in the game.

Off-field the club had secured Jason Taylor (former Parramatta coach to be assistant coach at Souths), Mark Hughes (former Head of Recruitment at the Bulldogs), Errol Alcott (formerly Australian cricket team's head physiotherapist), Anthony Mundine (appointed as Indigenous Liaison Officer) and former NZ cricket captain Martin Crowe (as a board member).

Markedly improved results were shown on the field with South Sydney winning their first three games of the 2007 season (marking their best start to a season since 1972) and being competitive in every game. On the back of one of the best defenses in the competition, the Rabbitohs finished strongly, making the semi finals for the first time since 1989. They finished the season in 7th position with 12 wins. Souths' season ended in the first week of the finals, losing 30 - 6 to the Manly - Warringah Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval.

2008 Season

The South Sydney Rabbitohs will celebrate their centenary year during the 2008 National Rugby League season. The club will field teams in the National Rugby League Telstra Premiership and the Toyota Cup National Youth Competition throughout the season.

The Rabbitohs will also have affiliate clubs in the New South Wales Premier League competition (the North Sydney Bears) and the UK Super League (Leeds Rhinos, the reigning Super League champions).

On 26 January, 2008, the Rabbitohs played the Leeds Rhinos at the Hodges Stadium at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, the first time first-grade professional rugby league teams from Australia and England played each other in the United States. A crowd of about 12,000 attended with Russell Crowe, Greg Norman, and the stars of television show American Chopper among the audience. Leeds Rhinos won the game 26-24.

Club Song

Sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn Of The Republic":

:"South Sydney Marches On...."

::"CHORUS"::"Glory, Glory to South Sydney"::"Glory, Glory to South Sydney"::"Glory, Glory to South Sydney"::"South Sydney Marches On"

:"When speaking of the champions":"One stands above the rest":"Of glories old and records proud":"When often put to test":"Of fine traditions, history":"That others cannot best":"They wear the RED & GREEN"

::"REPEAT CHORUS"

:"They mauled the Balmain Tigers":"Slew the Dragons from St. George":"The Seagulls and the Mounties next":"Were crushed with mighty force"

:"They humbled Parramatta":"And the Berries in due course":"They wear the RED & GREEN"

::"REPEAT CHORUS"

:"They plucked the Western Magpies":"Slashed the Newtown bag of blue":"The Eastern Suburbs rooster crowed":"And then was conquered too"

:"The greatest name in any game":"Within South Sydney grew":"They wear the RED & GREEN"

::"REPEAT CHORUS (twice)"

References

* [http://stats.rleague.com/rl/rl_index.html Rugby League Tables & Statistics] "The World of Rugby League".
* [http://www.nrl.com.au/Clubs/Rabbitohs/RabbitohsClubRecords/tabid/327/Default.aspx Rabbitohs Club Records] "National Rugby League".
* [http://www.souths.com.au South Sydney Rabbitohs] "South Sydney Rabbitohs official website".
* [http://rl1908.com/Clubs/South-Sydney-Rabbitohs.htm South Sydney Rabbitohs] "RL1908.com".
* [http://www.sporthistory.org/TomBrockbio.htm Tom Brock Biography] "Australian Society for Sports History".
*Andrews, Malcolm. "The ABC of Rugby League". Australia: ABC Books, 2006.
*Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson, "The Encyclopaedia of Rugby League Players - South Sydney Rabbitohs", Bas Publishing, 2005.