Brad Fittler questions sloppy Souths’ preparation as Bunnies look a shadow of their former selves

First Souths puzzled their supporters by leaving skipper Cameron Murray on the bench to start their match against Melbourne – then they dismayed them with sloppy offence and yawning gaps on defence as the Melbourne Storm ran out to a 14-0 halftime lead on Thursday night.

The Storm’s third try would’ve taken about a year off Bunnies coach Jason Demetriou’s life expectancy as they left a hole the width of the Sydney Heads around the ruck, with Harry Grant screaming upfield before offloading for Cameron Munster to score.

After last week’s horror run with injury, the Storm welcomed back the five-eighth, Grant and prop Jesse Bromwich for coach Craig Bellamy’s milestone game, and none of them disappointed.

Latrell Mitchell had little impact upon his return to the team after missing Round 1

Munster in particular looked very sharp and motivated as he returned after a stint in rehab that followed his involvement in the notorious ‘white powder’ that cast a pall over Melbourne’s offseason.

Grant helped fans forget the loss of Brandon Smith with a broken hand, putting in a great first 40 minutes that included an audacious kick on the first to set Xavier Coates up for Melbourne’s first try.

In contrast, the Bunnies looked to have gone backwards from last week’s disappointing and disjointed loss to the Brisbane Broncos.

The Rabbitohs have lost each of their 17 games in Melbourne against the Storm 

Ryan Papenhuyzen (second right) scored a first half try as Melbourne hit the ground running

The Storm proved too good for an out-of-sort Souths side and took a 14-0 lead at the break

At least they defended relatively soundly in that game, in contrast to the effort against the Storm, where they often looked like they were barely holding on as their opponents terrorised their left-side defence, offloaded with aplomb and clocked up three line breaks to nil.

Siliva Havili started at lock with Murray on the bench at the kickoff in a decision that left Nine commentator Andrew Johns baffled.

‘I’m trying to work it out,’ the Newcastle Knights legend said.

NSW great Brad Fittler questioned Souths preparation after a dismal showing in the first half

Sideline eye Brad Fittler questioned how prepared new coach Jason Demetriou’s men are for the 2022 season.

‘There are different players in South Sydney who are at different levels,’ he observed.

‘It’s like three quarters of them look ready to go, while there’s a few of them that are a little bit off the pace.’

Melbourne showed plenty of class on the field – and plenty off it, too.

The crowd rose to give late spin king Shane Warne a minute-long standing ovation with 23 minutes left in the first half in a heartwarming moment.