South Sydney Rabbitohs: Bunnies and Blues boosted by speedy Cameron Murray recovery
South Sydney Rabbitohs and New South Wales have received a huge boost as Cameron Murray has made a quicker than expected recovery from shoulder surgery and will face the Wests Tigers on Saturday.
The Rabbitohs captain looked set for a decent spell on the sidelines following shoulder surgery. As well as missing crucial games for Souths, he also looked set to sit out game one of State of Origin.
That would have been a big setback for New South Wales, but Murray could now play on 8th June. Blues coach Brad Fittler names his squad to face Queensland on Sunday night so the timing could not be better.
Murray return a huge boost for Demetriou
Without the 24-year-old in their side, Souths struggled in a 32-12 defeat against Canberra last week. They will be keen to bounce back against the Tigers and Murray will be key. Coach Jason Demetriou is certainly delighted to have him back.
Demetriou also says the speedy return speaks volumes about the player and his professionalism.
“We need his experience out there on the field,” Demetriou told reporters ahead of the game. “He just does everything right and he’s a model professional.
“He had the surgery and was straight back into it the next day and giving himself every chance to play. He’ll make an impact but we’ve all got to own our own roles and we can’t be sitting back hoping he can solve our issues.”
The Rabbitohs have been hit by a host of injury problems but are also boosted by the return of dependable prop Mark Nicholls. Meanwhile Junior Tatola and Taane Milne should also be passed fit to play.
Demetriou is looking for a big improvement against the Tigers. They have picked up just five wins from their opening 11 games and it is clear to see why.
South Sydney need to raise their game
Souths have the worst completion rate in the competition at 72percent. They also top the pile on the error count with 148. Demetriou says they have played well in patches this season, but that is not enough.
“We were 8-0 down and there were periods from that point where we fought our way back in and we had some opportunities in good ball and we sort of overplayed (our hand),” he said looking back at the Raiders defeat.
“We’ve just got to calm down a little bit, get through our process and stick to what works for us and when we do that we get results. I want to see us get out there and just be South Sydney.”