The South Sydney Rabbitohs' inconsistency has again been laid bare, with coach Wayne Bennett delivering a blunt assessment after their 32–10 defeat to the Dolphins during Magic Round on Friday night.
Souths produced another uneven performance, finishing with 15 errors and conceding five penalties, while the Dolphins were not far behind in their own disciplinary issues with 13 errors and four penalties conceded.
Despite the scrappy nature of the contest, the Rabbitohs were unable to contain the Dolphins' momentum at key moments, with their defensive structure under scrutiny.
The loss continued a frustrating pattern for South Sydney this season, with almost every win being followed by a defeat, a trend Bennett was quick to acknowledge post-match as he called out his side's inability to build any sustained consistency.
“We've had three really good wins and next week we've turned up and played rubbish,” Bennett said in the post-match press conference.
“It's worse than frustrating. It just kind of gets to the embarrassing stage because there is no logic to why they're doing it except what's probably happening in their heads through the week, happy with themselves, I don't know.
“It's an obvious trend right now, so we've got to get on top of it.”
South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray echoed his coach's concerns, pointing to the need for week-to-week discipline and focus as the only way out of their inconsistent cycle.
“If you spend too much time thinking about it, you're probably not thinking about what you need to think about, which is the next week and being consistent the next week,” he said.
“So, we've just got to try and fight and win it back, I guess, and turn up every week and play the footy we know we can play.
“We speak pretty consistently about the blueprint of how we know we can play and what works for us.
“But it's just a matter of doing a week in, week out. (There are) a lot of inconsistencies around what we're saying and what we're not doing out in the field. So, we've just got to train good and play good.”
With the season continuing to swing between highs and lows, the Rabbitohs face mounting pressure to turn promising performances into something far more sustainable before their campaign risks slipping further into unpredictability.
