South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou has implored his team to make a decision on what the 2023 season means to them after Saturday's loss to the Cronulla Sharks in Perth.
The loss to Cronulla - which came as a surprise given the respective form lines of the two teams in recent weeks - sees the Rabbitohs fall in danger of dropping out of the top eight at the end of Round 23.
A difficult travel schedule could well be catching up with the Rabbitohs, who have played on the Sunshine Coast, in Tamworth, and in Perth in back-to-back-to-back weeks, with trips to Cairns (to play the St George Illawarra Dragons) and Newcastle (to play the Knights) in the coming fortnight leading into a bye, and then a season-closing clash against the Sydney Roosters.
As it stands, it's likely that 14 wins will be the mark to guarantee a spot in the finals, while 13 could see a battle come down to for and against between teams at the bottom of the top eight.
The Rabbitohs have 11 wins from their 21 games, and to get to 14 now need to win three from three, a task easier said than done. The club have already lost to the Dragons once this year, Newcastle is a difficult place to play as an away team against a Knights team who have caught fire in recent times, and the Roosters will always serve up a tough battle for South Sydney.
Demetriou said his team must get it right from next week.
โI said to the playing group, they've got to make a decision and make it quick about what this season means to us,โ Demetriou said during his post-game press conference.
โBecause we're saying the right things but we're not putting it out on the field, and not consistently.
โWe've got to be honest with ourselves, our staff, players, and get it right starting next week.โ
The Rabbitohs found themselves on the back foot from the get-go in the game against Cronulla, with the Sharks scoring the first four tries of the contest and South Sydney not getting on the scoreboard until the 62nd minute.
While a late flurry of points gave the Redfern-based outfit a chance in the contest, it wasn't to be, with South Sydney's completion rate of just 66 per cent horrific, and 44 missed tackles not helping either.
โThey got the jump on us physically and we tried to come back but discipline killed us,โ Demetriou said.
โWe completed at 60 per cent so even at 26-16 there was time for us and we just couldn't hold the ball.
โWe were just killing ourselves, we gave ourselves no chance tonight."
The Rabbitohs fly back from Perth on Monday and then will be back on a plane just days later to head to Cairns.
