Michael Maguire spoilt for choice ahead of season opener

South Sydney suffered a rough season in 2016, but the signing of Robbie Farah and the emergence of some young talent have Redfern believing again.

The Rabbitohs ran out convincing winners over the Red V on the weekend, claiming their fifth consecutive Charity Shield. Farah stole all the headlines leading into the match, scoring the red and green’s first try while getting the side’s forward pack rolling once again. It seems Farah had stamped his mark on the game, and the starting hooker spot was all but his. Enter Damien Cook.

Cook’s speed and agility menaced the Dragon’s ruck with every run, producing the highlight of the game when he picked up the ball, split the defenders, and despite running at full pace, put in a lovely banana kick for Braidon Burns to score his first. While it may seem a problem for some, the professionalism of Farah and dynamic style from Cook, Maguire says Cook is an asset for South’s off the bench.

“It’s not a headache. There’s opportunities at the back end of halves when your game puts a lot of pressure on the opposition, the game now is getting closer and closer with the arm wrestle so it comes to down to those little sort of players being able to pull apart the middle of the field,” Maguire said.

Aaron Gray suffered a knee injury in the Auckland Nines, ruling him out for up to four months, but it seems the trial match has narrowed down the candidates for the vacancy in the backline.

Former Penrith back Braidon Burns well and truly put his hand up, finishing two superb tries, as well as saving one early in the first half. Scoring 28 tries in 31 matches in Penrith’s Holden Cup team, Burns has talent aplenty.

On the other hand, Siosifa Talakai put his hand up at left centre with his nuggety frame causing Euan Aitken plenty of problems. Talakai, a South’s junior, debuted last year for the club, switching between centre and back-row at times. The spot comes down to Bryson Goodwin at the end of the day, however.

If Goodwin plays on the wing, Talakai will be there at centre. If Goodwin starts at centre, Burns could very well debut outside him. Maguire has too many options at his disposal. The forward pack has asked its own questions, with Angus Crichton battling with John Sutton and Kyle Turner for a starting spot, while Robbie Rochow, Dave Tyrrell and Anthony Cherrington seem destined to run out in reserve grade come round one.

Michael Maguire will name his side to face the Wests Tigers in just over a week, but the NRL’s introduction of a new rule stating clubs must name 21 players every Tuesday, it’ll leave many guessing on the side’s final makeup until kick off. With fresh talent young and old set to feature in the side, Michael Maguire appears blessed for choice.