Honesty and humility have been at the forefront of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2018, which has helped the side compete at the very top this season.
Taking each week as it comes and respecting all competitors regardless of their form that Rabbitohs have religiously stuck by their week to week mentality since Round 1.
With strong leadership guiding the way and a down to earth culture pulsing through the South Sydney fabric, the Cardinal and Myrtle have put themselves in a perfect place to finish the season strong.
Rabbitohs five-eighth Cody Walker has been one of Souths stand out performers this year and is gearing up for his first NRL finals series, but the tenacious number six is keeping a lid on his excitement with another two big weeks ahead.
Cody Walker"It's obviously exciting but I can't get too overexcited we've got two games in hand and an important game this weekend against the Raiders."
You can't blame Walker for feeling the excitement of finals fever but to put it aside and continually focus on the task at hand is one of the many reasons the Rabbitohs and have been so strong this year.
After tough back-to-back losses for just the second time this season, the stars of South Sydney are well aware they haven't been at their best, but they know exactly how they can get it back.
Another big part of the Rabbitohs mantra this year has been their focus on effort and consistency, which has been built off an honest approach to the way they take on each team.
Effort and consistency play a huge role in getting the team on the front foot and according to Rabbitohs dummy-half Damien Cook, is also a fallback plan for when the team is having an off day with the footy.
Damien Cook"A big thing out of the Broncos game was our effort areas weren't' there and at least when we're not playing our best footy we have that to fall back on and that's what we've done really well throughout the year."
With two big weeks ahead, the Red and Green are focused on bringing the right mentality to their upcoming fixtures starting off this week against a Canberra Raiders side, who are out of finals contention.
With the Raiders attacking stats and talented roster not reflecting in their position on the ladder, Cook says the Rabbitohs concentration and consistency is even more key.
"That's probably the scary part," said Cook.
"Over the last couple of weeks you'vee seen the bottom of the table sides beat the ones at the top."
"But we can't worry about them too much because we haven't played our best footy over the last couple of weeks, so we've just got to make sure we go down there and play our brand of footy and get the job done."
Halfback Adam Reynolds mirrored Cook's words to really drive home the Rabbitohs main focus for the final two rounds of the regular season.
Adam Reynolds"For us, it's just about focusing on this week, we need to put in a good performance."
With a top-two finish up for grabs, a minor premiership within touching distance and a finals appearance for the first time since 2015, there are many reasons for those who bleed Red and Green to be excited but don't expect your South Sydney stars to be straying from the path anytime soon.
