Rabbitohs NRL squad for Round 27 against Roosters this Friday

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are pleased to announce their squad for round 27 of the 2023 NRL Premiership against the Sydney Roosters to be played this Friday 1 September at 8pm, in their return to Accor Stadium for the first time in eight weeks, in the second leg of the Ron Coote Cup for the 2023 season.

Rabbitohs Head Coach Jason Demetriou has named Blake Taaffe at fullback and Izaac Tu'itupou Thompson on the wing, Junior Tatola to start at prop and Michael Chee Kam to start in the second row.

The Rabbitohs will be celebrating their past players at this Old Boys Day match and will pay homage to two premiership-winning South Sydney players in particular at Friday night’s game.

A pre-game video tribute will be played on the big screens, and a minute's silence will be observed, in honour of premiership-winning player, the late Kyle Turner, who passed away earlier this month at the age of just 31.

This match is also the second leg of the Ron Coote Cup for 2023. The Ron Coote Cup celebrates the career of one of the game's greatest players, Ron Coote AM, who won six premierships and played in nine Grand Finals during his 15 seasons playing first grade football with both South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs. The Ron Coote Cup is played across both home and away fixtures in any given season, with the winner determined by the aggregate score from those two regular season matches. The Rabbitohs are aiming to win their sixth-consecutive Ron Coote Cup on Friday night, however the Roosters hold a two-point lead in 2023 courtesy of a 20-18 scoreline in their favour in round three.

Gates at Accor Stadium will open at 5:45pm with the curtain raiser match between South Sydney's Botany Rams and Eastern Suburbs' Clovelly Crocodiles kicking off at 5:50pm.

At half time of the NRL game, the South Sydney Rabbitohs' major partner, MG Motor Australia, are giving five lucky winners the chance to win one of three MG ZS EV Essence cars.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs' squad for Friday's round 27 Ron Coote Cup match against the Roosters is:

1. Blake Taaffe
2. Alex Johnston
3. Isaiah Tass
4. Campbell Graham
5. Izaac Tu'itupou Thompson
6. Cody Walker
7. Lachlan Ilias
8. Junior Tatola
9. Damien Cook
10. Shaquai Mitchell
11. Keaon Koloamatangi
12. Michael Chee Kam
13. Cameron Murray (c)

Interchange:

14. Jai Arrow
15. Tallis Duncan
16. Hame Sele
17. Davvy Moale
18. Taane Milne
19. Jed Cartwright
20. Peter Mamouzelos
21. Daniel Suluka Fifita
22. Dean Hawkins

Coach - Jason Demetriou