After claiming their second successive victory in 2017, Rabbitohs skipper Sam Burgess believes his side will be ready for the challenge posed by the undefeated Sydney Roosters on Thursday night, despite losing a number of players through suspension.
Venturing north to take on the Newcastle Knights, the Rabbitohs were able to secure the two premiership points on offer despite lacking discipline at stages during the clash – something Burgess knows his side needs to improve upon moving forward.
“It’s something we’ve got to work on,” said the English representative.
“We felt the back end of it as well, we’ve got a few guys suspended this weekend.
“Things are going to happen in the game, somethings we can control, somethings we can’t. We play a physical game and there’s six inches in a couple of things that make a difference.
“We’ve got to be better, we can’t have players on the sideline, it hurts the team but it’s something we’re working on.”
Although George Burgess, Braiden Burns and Hymel Hunt will be spending time on the sideline after their involvement in incidents throughout the Round 3 encounter, Burgess believes that the playing group has an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive.
“The good thing is that we’ve got some good players in our reserve grade. They’ve been doing a great job for the North Sydney Bears.
“So that’s a positive – it’ll give someone else the opportunity with a first grade jersey.
“As disappointing as it is, it’s also a positive for someone else who will get a shot, and playing the Roosters on Thursday, it’s a good time to be in the team.”
Coming off the back of wins against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights, the Rabbitohs will be relishing the chance to take on their in-form rivals who have found themselves at the top end of the ladder early in the season.
“We’re happy with the wins and at this stage in the season you need as many as you can.
“We know as the season goes on it gets tougher and with injuries, suspensions and things, so you need to collect as many wins as you can.
“They (the Roosters) are probably the inform team in the competition. They’re undefeated, so they’re the team at the minute that everyone is looking at.
“They’re the benchmark and they’ve recruited well over the off-season, so it’ll be a great challenge for us.
“We’ve got a few guys out and a few positions floating around this week, but we’ll be looking forward to Thursday night.”
