The Offload: Can the South Sydney Rabbitohs still make the 2025 NRL finals?

South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett still believes the South Sydney Rabbitohs can make the top eight despite a disastrous injury toll following a horror 2024 season.

Bennett, commencing his second stint at the Maroubra-based club he took to a preliminary final in 2021, rejoins the Rabbitohs after becoming the inaugural coach of the Dolphins.

On Zero Tackle's new weekly rugby league show The Offload, our panel chatted the Rabbitohs chances of making the top eight, with the general consensus that the club were going to fall well short in their endeavours.

On this week's episide of The Offload, the panel discuss Las Vegas, the Rabbitohs, Mitchell Moses, Tom Gilbert and provide tips for the remainder of Round 1.

» WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE.

That comes with New South Wales State of Origin lock forward Cameron Murray to miss most, if not all of the season with an Achilles injury, and Latrell Mitchell to miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury.

"I think that [Wayne Bennett's message] is a message directed towards the Rabbitohs, not the rest of the general public. I don't know if there are many people who would hold that with much water, but this is classic Wayne Bennett mind games," Tom, the owner of Retro Rugba Leeg said on the show.

"We see Cam Murray, who is one of the premier locks in the whole game, I'd pick him above Isaah Yeo in my team, he is gone, Latrell Mitchell is on tenterhooks for the next eight weeks, Cody [Walker] is coming back after a long injury and missed the All Stars game.

"It doesn't fill you with confidence to make the eight when there are other teams vastly improving and you're trying to compete in that space."

It's not just injuries which are a cause for concern at Maroubra, with the Rabbitohs having an unproven halfback in Lewis Dodd after his move from England to go with the departure of Damien Cook during the off-season and lingering questions over the talent level in other parts of the squad.

"If there is any coach that can get a team with this many questions and injuries to the finals it's probably Wayne Bennett, he is a master man manager and I'm sure he will find a way to have Souths scaring the top teams at times," Zero Tackle editor Scott Pryde said.

"Lewis Dodd, wasn't impressed with him in the trials at all. You cast your mind back over English spine players who have come out here in years gone by and really the only one I can think of that has performed well is George Williams for a period before that went sour in Canberra.

"So, I can't see the Rabbitohs making the finals. They need a miracle in my mind."

The panel also chatted about South Sydney being built on attack, with their key injuries likely to put a major dent in their game plan.

"I think that creates a bigger problem for South Sydney when you think about it being built on points. They have lost Cameron Murray who has the quickest play the ball in the competition, Damien Cook has gone out the door, we have an uproven dummy half in Peter Mamouzelos, the questions around the halves are enormous," Pryde said.

"There are so many questions there, I find it hard to put them anywhere near the top eight to be perfectly honest."

The Rabbitohs will kick their season off on Friday evening against the Dolphins in Sydney after the game was moved from Brisbane at the last minute as Cyclone Alfred approaches.

Watch this week's full episode of The Offload here.