After we took you on a journey to see the growth of the Club over the past ten years, we now break down the 2017 season and preview what's ahead.
Despite the lower ladder finish in 2016, Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly describes the Club’s determination of chasing the next premiership.
“The history of the Club creates an expectation amongst Members, staff, players and directors that the Rabbitohs will succeed. That in itself lifts the standards around the Club – on and off the field,” Solly said.
“Our sponsorship, Membership and match day teams want to be the benchmark in Australian sport, just as our players want to win the NRL competition.
“The proud history of the Club makes every person who works for it want to leave the Club in a better position than when they started.”
Mr Solly believes striving for the 22nd Premiership will consist of creating the best environment for our players and staff in order to become a sustainable, stable, elite Club.
“The NRL premiership is as competitive as any sporting league in the world, and to succeed in it demands a huge amount from everyone involved in the Club,” Mr Solly said.
“Watching the way Michael (Maguire) and the players prepare for and attack a pre-season is a really good example of that.
“The changes in staffing and structure that Shane (Richardson) has made in Football will help a great deal. There is a remarkable amount of enthusiasm and hunger about the Club at the moment – it is a very exciting time to be a Rabbitoh.”
From a Football perspective, General Manager of Football, Shane Richardson, believes the Club is not rebuilding, but building again and ironing out the creases that have set the Club back since holding up the trophy in 2014.
“We’re not rebuilding the club towards a 22nd Premiership but we’re building again,” explained Richardson.
“What we are trying to do is to create stability within the Club and we’ve got the pillars in place with the coach and the senior players to do it. We’ve made judgement on the quality of the players and locked them in long term, at the same time bringing in some young players particularly in positions we think we need them.”
