Ivan Cleary has Yeo as Captain as if he selected his son Nathan only…

Perhaps he didn’t want to look like an UI10s team where the ‘Coaches Son’ gets everything handed to him on a silver platter including the captaincy?

Just a thought!

Only a bunch of losers have more than one captain.

I was looking through their roster, they are thin!

aerial lizard

The reserves are NOT in any particular order.
Before Rd 1, I will write what I think is more accurate concerning the depth chart.

I will select my team before the Tuesday so we can see how accurate I may be! I expect to get a couple incorrect.

It will be clearer whether any of those 4 players on the Unavailable list will play or NOT.

Slammin_Sam

The Rabbitohs don’t need a “Proper Rebuild” as you say, all they need is what is lacking at most clubs…

One or Two big mobile props.

As I wrote in another post the COVID years of 2020 and 2021 put a real halt to junior development throughout the whole game.
Especially in the Forwards/Middle positions, the game lost many kids as they “missed their window”.
Props take about 5 years to develop so we won’t start seeing the new crop come through until 2026, of course, the better kids would have debuted in 2023, 2024 or maybe in 2025.

Thomas Fletcher (21) at 190cm and 100kg is one player to keep an eye on for this season. He was an edge player in his junior years but he seems to be headed into the middle at Prop.
He has been on development for the past 2 seasons and now enters the Top 30 this season. I am confident he could be one of those “Better Kids” coming through after that COVID period.

Props in the pipeline for the Rabbitohs…
Nazareth Taua (19) 190cm 104kg, signed until 2027 He played Ball and Flegg in 2024.
Elijah Keung (19) I can’t find any stats… He is big and mobile from Easts Tigers and played QLD Cup last season signed until 2027.

Halves, Edges, Locks, Utitliy and Hooker, the Rabbitohs are pretty good…
The club has another trio of halves and Hookers coming through the pipeline. One in the Preston Campbell mould.

The Rabbitohs need another backup winger and perhaps another centre as a few kids they had coming through have been hit by long-term injuries from the past 2 seasons. A few others didn’t turn out as good as was hoped so they have been released.
High hopes have been placed on Fletcher Myers and Haizyn Mellars

So many fans underestimate Lewis Dodd and Jamie Humphries and that is understandable, well, we’ll see!
I have high hopes for both players to succeed.

Jye Gray may just be that player to eventually take over at 5/8 when Cody Walker retires.
I think the Media has to get Jack Wighton off their mind as a 5/8 as that won’t happen unless the Injury Curse strikes again as last season.

I don’t know a lot about some kids signed for this season…
Lachlan Hubner, Edge
Gerome Burns 5/8
Max McCarthy Prop

I do think that we should wait for the team to be selected and then play in the Charity Shield before worrying about Rd 1.

In the past players who were fit and not selected in this game had little chance of playing in Rd 1.

There is too much speculation about Rabbitohs current injured players and whether Latrell Mitchell will be allowed to serve his suspension in the All-Stars.

My mail is that Johnston is slated to return between Rd 1 to Rd 4. He is about 8 weeks ahead of schedule.

Cameron Murray is a good chance of playing in Rd 1 not the media’s prediction of Rd 10.
I don’t have any info on Aitken, sorry.
Junior Tatola seems to be tracking well for a Rd 1 return.

Josh Schuster is well ahead of anywhere he was at Manly both fitness and injury-wise.

Possible Charity Shield Team:
01 Jye Gray
02 Tyrone Munro
03 Campbell Graham
04 Jack Wighton
05 Fletcher Myers
06 Cody Walker
07 Lewis Dodd
08 Tevita Tatola
09 Jamie Humphries
10 Davvy Moale
11 Josh Schuster
12 Jai Arrow
13 Keaon Koloamatangi

14 Siliva Havili
15 Tallis Duncan
16 Sean Keppie
17 Thomas Fletcher
18 Peter Mamouzelos
19 Isaiah Tass
20 Jayden Sullivan
21 Shaq Mitchell
22 Lachlan Hubner
23 Jacob Host
24 Ben Lovett
25 Haizyn Mellars
26 Liam Le Blanc
Players unavailable:
Latrell Mitchell
Alex Johnston
Cameron Murray
Euan Aitken

I will bet you whatever you want that Murray will be closer to play in Rd 1 than in Rd 5.

Just to add, I doubt Crowe will get $20m for his 25%.

The 75% owned by Crowe, Packer and MCB are for the managerial rights.

The real value is that one Blue Chip Share owned by Member Co. That is the 25% owned by the members.

When any of these owners cash in their 25% or part of it, I am sure that all sales and the amounts must be approved by the 7-man Rabbitohs Board.

Member Co. In the Rabbitohs constitution have the right to refute any such sales…

An example of this would be to prevent anyone from trying to buy the club and then to dispose of it.

So if Nick Politis wanted to buy up all of that 75% from the 3 owners and then try to close the club down for the Roosters to take over then that can’t happen as that 25% Member Co. Blue Chip Share can override that 75% Managerial shares at any time.

An extraordinary Meeting would be called with all financial members able to vote to buy back ALL 75% shares for $1.

These were the safeguards put in place back in 2006.

Tony…

I am privy to a lot of information at the Rabbitohs, which is why I only comment on stories involving them.

Of Course, some information is sensitive that I won’t divulge to the public but I can offer info when applicable to do so.

There are plenty of false negative stories of the Rabbitohs being made up out of spite and some halve truths going around and always fuelled by those in the media connected to the Roosters.

Even Journos who have their teams like BUZZ who follows the Sharks still cozy up with the Roosters to help with their agenda against Souths… It is all fuelled by Jealousy and the fact they did everything in their warped power to take over the Rabbitohs Junior territory but they didn’t even get close as that Licensed club at Kingsford with Henry Morris in control back in the SL Era were way more financially powerful than the Roosters!
And they know it.

The Roosters are also behind the Rabbitohs NOT having a NRLW team in the comp. Never underestimate the Roosters as their power goes further than the average fan realises.

Tony, how much do you think the Roosters are worth?
A report I read was $16m… If that is accurate?

How much is a football club truly worth?
They are extensively not-for-profit organisations where all revenues get pumped back into the coffers.

Except the Broncos!

Since when are Newspapers qualified to do evaluations without looking at the books and seeing the financial reports?

The Australian Securities evaluate the Rabbitohs to be worth closer to $70m.

Rusty paid $1.5m for his 37.5%.

He put in another $8m to refurbish offices and to install the then, latest computers and software plus he replaced all of the antiquated football training equipment in the Gym.

Holmes ‘a’ Court was spending money faster than the club could make it.

Rusty did make some money back when he sold 12.5% to Mike Cannon-Brookes in November 2021.

steveng…

I pretty much wrote what I think about our middles. I am not happy with all of the ones we have but all the best props are overpriced for their worth.
Even the average props are commanding over $600k.

From 2018 to 2021 we were in the Prelim or better, our forwards held their own on most occasions but it was always Reynolds and Walker who steered the play, our back 5 were just too good in attack which probably hid our middle issues.

Not since we had all of the Burgess boys playing together have we truly dominated.

Freddy is king…

The Rabbitohs always get criticised for our back 3 supposedly not being able to start the sets off with big runs but that is a myth as the Rabbitohs’ AVERAGE set distance is always in the best 5 teams in the comp.

Campbell Graham is that player who always gets our sets started with big runs from dummy half but he was missing for the entire 2024 season which really hurt the team.
I am not sure if opposition fans realise what a massive loss he actually was.

Tatola being missing for the past 2 seasons, only playing 21 out of 48 games was a massive blow for the team’s go-forward.

Cam Murray is a machine and he may be back much earlier than what the Journos wrote in their injury reports.

Koloamatangi is better on the Right-Edge but he will most likely start the season at Lock.

Does that include Reserve Grade?

Sullivan has little chance of playing in First Grade unless the Injury Curse hits the Rabbitohs like the previous two seasons.

I think it was more of a case in which the Rabbitohs offered Humphreys more of an opportunity to play first grade.

I wouldn’t think Humphreys is on all that much.
Peter Mamouzelos is on about $270k

With DCE, Brookes In the Halves, Jake Arthur, and a bloke named Joey Walsh.

At Hooker, there is Crocker, Simpkin and Chan Kum Chong,

So where did Jamie Humphreys fit in?
Did Manly offer him a Top 30 contract? Probably not.

Both clubs have similar questions that need answering.
In their halves and their middles.

The Roosters middles of Collins and Leniu are solid but who do they have after that?

I must admit I don’t know anything about their players coming through in their Development or their lower grades but their Cup team finished 10th of 13 and their Flegg team finished out of the top 8 out of 14 clubs, hardly good reading.

The Rabbitohs were also bad in this department as season-ending injuries have a flow-down effect on all teams and in all the grades.

The Roosters edges are also a question mark.
Billy Smith will go down again it is in his DNA.
Playing Mark Nawaqanitawase at Centre will be a defensive risk, his attack is OK.
I don’t rate Nat Butcher.

They may go after Staggs.

For Souths…
Lewis Dodd I think can be a good NRL halfback in time.
Jamie Humphries will surprise a lot of people at Hooker.
I don’t rate Pete Mamo

The only question I have about Souths is the injury curse that seems to plague them.
Tatola has missed the best part of the last 2 seasons.
Shaq Mitchell also.
Keppie is too lazy for mine.
Moale is young at 22 but he is in his 5th season so he is improving.

Arrow and Koloamatangi will need to play in the middle.
I don’t know anything about Lachlan Hubner.
Thomas Fletcher is a youngster who may also play in the middle.

The top players at the Roosters for mine are,
James Tedesco
Dominic Young
Daniel Tupou
Sam Walker (injured)
Lindsay Collins
Brandon Smith (injured)
Spencer Leniu
Angus Crichton
Victor Radley
Chad Townsend

At the Rabbitohs.
Latrell Mitchell
Alex Johnston (injured)
Campbell Graham
Jack Wighton
Tyrone Munro
Cody Walker
Lewis Dodd
Keaon Koloamatangi
Jai Arrow
Cameron Murray (injured)
Josh Schuster

I think the time is right to let the fans know that these so-called clauses in Sullivans’ favour are incorrect.

I am not saying that the original Journo who wrote the story has it wrong, but what he may have written were just preliminary meetings that may not be in the actual contract.

Let us see what we do know…
Sullivan has a 3-year contract with the Tigers but the amount is sketchy! $700 or $550k

The initial writing was for a 2-year contract with Sullivan having the right to either stay at Souths in 2026 or to move back to the Tigers.
There was another so-called clause for Sullivan to be at Souths for 2 seasons and then rejoin the Tigers in 2027.

The question is…
Will the Tigers want to take him back or do they want to let him go for good?

Are the Tigers having a bob each way as a measure in case Luai activates a get-out clause in his contract in 2026?

It is all just too messy!

The problem I have with all this is the fact that the Rabbitohs only signed Sullivan for a 1-Year-deal.
That is correct a 1-year deal…
Now if these so-called contract clauses are to be believed why would the Rabbitohs only sign him for 2025?

It is a valid question that needs answering.

So as there is only a 1-year-deal there can’t be any clauses as Sullivan has the choice to re-negotiate with Souths for 2026 or with any club for that matter.

What I am thinking is that there might be clauses with the Tigers but there certainly are zero clauses with Souths!

It is almost as if Jayden Sullivan is on loan to Souths for 2025 as young Harry Grant did with the Tigers from the Storm!

I have been saying $550k all along!

I can assure you the Rabbitohs didn’t fall for the high asking price of $700k minus $300k from the Tigers!

Letting Ilias go was still a win for the Rabbitohs as they traded an ordinary halfback with no kicking game for a youngster on a 1-year contract.

The Rabbitohs will now have $580k to play with for 2026 where perhaps they can purchase a big prop.

Ask the question who is better, Dean Hawkins or Jayden Campbell?

Rosie…

Junior Tatola and Shaq Mitchell were both out for all but 4 games for memory, that didn’t help the cause!

The Media and fans of other clubs just didn’t realise how bad the injury curse was at Heffron in 2024.

It was so bad that 3 of our top high-performance staff were sacked, including the Manager.

Tetley…

You may see Wighton on an Edge one day but I think they would need to either produce a young centre or buy an experienced centre.

The Rabbitohs are well stocked for Edge players, of course, many of them can also play at lock or up front.

Haizyn Mellars is one youngster slated to play at Centre one day but he had an Injury cursed season in 2024 as a dozen other players at Souths did also.

For mine, Isaiah Tass was a panic resigning and for 3 further seasons that really bethelled many at Heffron.
He was originally told to find another club and was linked to the Dragons early in the year but he was yet another player who had an injury-cursed season with injury, the Dragons pulled out.
I think he is too slow for first grade, plus he never passes the ball to Johnston.

I can give you the correct answer Don…

Ilias initially signed a 3-year deal for an average of $350k per season for 2023 to 2025 which is a total of $1.05M…

The small print is the first 2 seasons were for $250k with 2025 back-ended to $550k plus the Rabbitohs apparently paid some management fees of $30k all down on the Salary Cap.

So a total of $580k on the Rabbitohs Cap for 2025.

As Ilias has since signed with the Dragons the Rabbitohs had to pay Ilias the $100k X 2 plus $100k towards his Dragons 2025 deal.

Ilias’ deal with the Dragons is $400k X 2 seasons.

So for 2025, the Rabbitohs will carry Ilias $330k on their Cap which means they have saved only $250k.

Coincidently the $250k they saved is exactly the amount the Rabbitohs will be paying for Jayden Sullivan.

Tony…

What I have been told is the Rabbitohs have about $900k to spend on their Salary Cap for 3 players and a Development player.

This is the reason I always doubted the media with these Bateman and Lodge rumours!

If the signing of Jayden Sullivan is correct my estimation is the Rabbitohs will put in about $250k as the Media report that he is on $700k is way wide of the mark, $550k sounds correct.

So if my estimations are correct then the Rabbitohs will have $650k to spend for 2 players plus a development player.

Minimum wages for all 3 are at $135k X2 plus $80k = $350k.

That would leave only $300k in the Kitty.

The Salary Cap is tight.

Jacob Host is on $300k, it is my understanding he is being shopped around but there are no takers from any NRL clubs.

Robbo…

Shaq Mitchell was re-signed for another season (2025) with no upgrade in wages!

I have been worried about the lack of size in the Rabbitohs front row for a few seasons.

Since COVID-19 in 2020 the development of Props has been severely affected throughout the whole game.

Only the real special forwards like Cameron Murray get to debut at a younger age.

Props take longer to develop, Kids who leave school don’t play first grade at 18 as so many wingers may do.
It takes a good 5-years of development, Flegg, Cup then NRL.

I think that is the real reason why the Contracts of Props have skyrocketed… $900k plus for the best players.

This is the list of Props who have come and gone at Souths since 2020.
ALL but one didn’t work out for us!
Mark Nicholls, he did fine.
Tom Amone Injuries
Kurt Dillon Injuries
Liam Knight Injuries
Patrick Mago Injuries
Hame Sele Injuries
DS Fifita Just no good

If just 2 of these players had shaped up, the Rabbitohs wouldn’t be in this predicament.

A couple coming through from our lower grades have also been moved on, they just couldn’t cut it.

Development Players

Elijah Keung signed until (2027) a Prop from Easts Tigers is a promising prospect, he is in the Rabbitohs Full-time squad.

There is no rebuild at the Rabbitohs.

The Rabbitohs released many average players, re-signed plenty of good young talent, and signed some experienced players.

Burgess and Cook are ageing and not the same players they were in 2021.

Lachlan Ilias tries hard but needs to find a consistent long-kicking game.
It would have been nice to see him play at Hooker as Mamozelous is slower than me at 60 so I think Jamie Humphries may get the No. 9 Jersey.

Other Losses:
* Taane Milne (Released Huddersfield)
* Dean Hawkins (Released Eels)
* Michael Chee-Kam (Released Manly)
* Jacob Gagai (Released Huddersfield)
* Izaac Thompson (Released Raiders)
* Ritchie Kennar (Released)
* Dion Teaupa (Released)
* Leon Te Hau (Released Broncos)

Gains:
Contrary to many ill-informed opinions Lewis Dodd will not only turn out to be a great inclusion but he will turn heads doing it. He is fast in movement and between the ears and has a fantastic kicking game. I think his defence will most likely be tested but with Campbell Graham on his outside and Keaon Koloamatangi on his inside, he will receive plenty of help.

Lewis Dodd, Euan Aitken, Lachlan Hubner, Jamie Humphries, Josh Schuster, Gerome Burns, Max McCarthy and Fletcher Myers will be great inclusions.

The Rabbitohs have a very good all-around squad as there are 8… back 5-players who can play in 2 or more positions.

They also have 11 forwards who can play in any position in the forward pack, Hooker being the exception.

Within all that the team has 7 genuine utilities that can play in a combination of either Halves/Hooker OR Halves/FB OR Edge/Centre OR Edge/Halves OR Hooker/Lock…

What the Rabbitohs are lacking is 2 big Mobile Props.
Shaq Mitchell and Sean Keppie are sizable but they are too inconsistent to be genuine 20-games-per-season mobile props.

Demetriou positioned Souths to buy smaller mobile middles who were ostensibly Locks but such players don’t control the ruck.

Sam Burgess and George Burgess were never replaced like for like and it seems Thomas won’t be either.

Ben Te’o was never replaced adequately either!

As an insider, my information was that Lodge and Bateman never had a realistic chance of joining the Rabbitohs as we are stacked with a couple of very good up-and-coming EdgeMiddle Players in the squad plus both players had an inflated sense of worth. $500k and $700k respectively that is way over for injury-prone and uninspired players.

The Brandon Smith rumours are total rubbish! So forget that

Souths do have 3 sizable young props coming through Development who may be a year or two away from First Grade.

The Rabbitohs have 27 players and 5 Development players signed up with 3 spots plus 1 Dev spot still available.

My mail is that Fletcher Myers will be promoted to our Top 30.

The Jayden Sullivan rumours caught me by surprise but in no way will he be signed on such a high contract. The media are quoting $700k but my mail is that he is closer to $550k.
I doubt the Rabbitohs will want to pay him more than $250k tops!

The Rabbitohs released 2 halves in the off-season with only signing Dodd.
Jamie Humphries can play Halfback if needed.
Jack Wighton is no 5/8 as he is a hole runner who steps back inside, hogs the ball and rarely passes the ball to his Winger which will be Johnston.
Only 8 try-assists at the Raiders as a 5/8 in 2023 and only 6 try-assists at Souths in 2024, so hardly good reading.

Most likely a couple of our up-and-coming props may be promoted to our Top 30 eventually!

I believe that we can finish between 3rd and 6th on the ladder, Injuries withstanding.

Well, there you go a full extensive report.