South Sydney hasn’t received the credit it deserves for reaching four straight preliminary finals, according to super coach Wayne Bennett.
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett believes the Rabbitohs haven’t received the credit they deserve for making four consecutive preliminary finals, but he is happy for his side to be “undersold”.
The Bunnies have made the past three preliminary finals, losing all three to the Roosters, Canberra and Penrith.
Bennett’s Rabbitohs will receive a shot at redemption when they face Manly in Friday’s grand final qualifier.
Most of the pre-game commentary for the Sea Eagles clash has centred around Souths’ preliminary final failings.
According to Bennett, though, the Rabbitohs deserve more respect for their sustained success in repeatedly reaching the penultimate weekend of the season.
“They’ve made it four years in a row – it is quite the achievement,” Bennett beamed.
“If you go and have a look at the stats it will be quite enlightening.
“You talk about the Roosters, the Storm and Penrith – all tremendous teams – but if you look at the win/loss statistics over the years, South Sydney is only one or two losses behind those teams.
“So, we’ve won as many games as those two teams and the Storm are a little bit ahead of everyone else.
“But the likes of Penrith, the Roosters and us have all got one win apart from each other.”
Bennett isn’t too worried about the lack of praise coming Souths’ way.
He knows his side is on track at the right end of the season, and that is all that matters to the master coach.
“Well, we are not the ones giving the credit out,” he reasoned.
“We just play, do it and we don’t write the stories and get out there and pump ourselves up.
“That is for somebody else to decide, but it suits us to be undersold.
“If that is the way it has to be, then no dramas.
“We’ve been here for four years, but we just haven’t been able to get past this point.
“That is the challenge to go that one step further.
“But they (Souths) have been a wonderful team to work with and to their credit they’ve got themselves back there (preliminary) again this year.”
Bennett says the Bunnies’ past preliminary final failings haven’t been spoken about heading into Friday’s must-win clash.
He is feeling confident about his side’s chances of ending their recent run of grand final qualifier defeats.
“Oh, it’s just the way we’ve prepared in the last couple of days and all season,” he said.
“And the way they’ve played their football and the position that we’ve found ourselves in at the end of the season.
“They are all things that give you confidence about taking the next step.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
