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The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a team in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier Rugby League competition in Australia . South Sydney are the most successful team in the history of Australian rugby league, in terms of premierships, winning an unprecedented 20 first grade premierships. However, they have not won a premiership since 1971 . RECENT HISTORY 2002-04 After being ousted from the league in 1999, the Rabbitohs were finally granted re-admission in 2002 after 2 court cases. Unsurprisingly, after creating an entirely new team for the season, the Rabbitohs were not at their former best and performed disappointingly during the season - though they did notch up wins over various clubs, including two over Canberra . 2003 saw the team as Wooden Spooners, but they did acquire various new players including Bryan Fletcher , Ashley Harrison , Justin Smith and - arguably most importantly - Luke MacDougall and Mark Minichello. 2004 was another less-than-successful campaign. 2005 There was wild partying from Rabbitohs supporters on the afternoon of Sunday 20 March, when Souths bounced back from an all-too anticipated loss to the Roosters the week before. The season was just two rounds old and already the Rabbitohs had a thunderous win on the board - 49-26 over the Parramatta Eels . Luke MacDougall's hat-trick of tries put the Bunnies on cloud 9, along with Joe William's eight conversions and a field goal. The Bunnies would be winless again until Round 5, when they disciplined the injury-ridden Newcastle Knights 37-12 at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, before a crowd of 16,162. This raised another interesting point of debate throughout the season - News Ltd. were calling for the Bunnies to abandon South Sydney and become the Central Coast Rabbitohs, especially after the Central Coast controversially lost their bid for a new team to the Gold Coast Titans mid-season. This has met with mixed response, but fans and club officials are vehemently opposed to the idea. For the next eight rounds, the Bunnies suffered loss after loss to the NRL juggernauts (including form teams Melbourne , Brisbane and Manly but also to fellow basement dwellers Penrith ) with the only relief being the bye in Round 8. After a promising start, Season 2005 was shaping up much like the last few Rabbitoh years. Many cite the turning point as Round 13, against the Bulldogs . Souths held the reigning premiers to a 21-all draw, and suddenly momentum seemed to be swinging back the Bunnies' way. A week later they hammered Manly 44-6, and though they went on to lose three more consecutively after that (including a second to arch-rivals St George Illawarra Dragons ), they bounced back to win 5 of their last 6, beginning with a '''24-14''' win over Cronulla at the Sydney Football Stadium , and highlighted with a hard-fought '''16-14''' downing of the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville . Finally overcoming the Bulldogs in Round 21, the Bunnies also defeated the Roosters in Sydney '''17-16''' in a spiteful encounter. All in all, Season 2005 was the most promising since re-admission. The Rabbitohs are currently one of the form sides in the competition and, under coach Shaun McRae , are looking a renewed force. Luke MacDougall and Ashley Harrison both had solid seasons, though Harrison will unfortunately be leaving the club at the end of the season to play for the Sydney Roosters. Their form in the latter part of the year was excellent and augers well for 2006. Their strong finish handed the bottom place on the NRL ladder to the Newcastle Knights . In addition, South Sydney finished level on premiership points with the Canterbury Bulldogs - the premiers of 2004. Privatisation Russell Crowe , the hollywood actor from Gladiator had been a fervent "Rabbitohs" supporter for years helping during their disqualification from the NRL. He had been criticised at various times for being too much of a supporter due to incidents such as his attempt to speak to the team during half-time and his speeches. After prominent Sydney Rugby League reporter Danny Wiedler asked him why he did not buy the club, he initially answered that there would be too many issues. However he and Peter Holmes A Court eventualy tabled a bid worth 3 million dollars. This was bitterly resisted by George Piggins and many who thought the bid was not enough. The pair won the necessary 75% of the vote needed though it is being disputed by George Piggins . PLAYERS OF NOTE
CAPTAINS (SINCE 2002)
NOTES # This game was played using an Obsoleted Scoring System . Under current scoring guidelines, the score in this game would have been 84 - 0 FAMOUS FANS EXTERNAL LINKS |
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