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The Good Friday afternoon blockbuster between the Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs could be determined by the emotional presence of South Sydney’s stricken hero Nathan Merritt, according to Andrew Johns.
Merritt this week gave interviews revealing the depth of his illness after he was diagnosed with stage four oesophagus and liver cancer.
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The legendary figure at South Sydney has been asked to ring the club’s Legacy Bell, in what is set to be a stirring scene before kick-off on Friday. He has said that this will likely be the last NRL game he ever attends, having been told he has about 12 months left to live.
Nathan Merritt pictured during his time with the South Sydney Rabbitohs Brett Hemmings via Getty Images
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Freddy and the Eighth’s Tips, Johns said the emotion that will be carried onto the field by the players could tip the scales of the contest to the Rabbitohs.
“That will inspire (Souths),” Johns said. “That’s worth a couple of tries.”
Johns was also bullish about the Rabbitohs’ prospects of unleashing their most devastating attacking football in an afternoon game with a fine weather forecast.
The Good Friday clash between the Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs has become a highlight on the NRL calendar, with fans of both clubs flocking to the stadium to watch it. More than 65,000 fans attended last year’s game.
“If there’s a team that loves playing in the daytime with a fast surface, it’s the Bunnies,” Johns said.
“This is an interesting game because you’ve got the Bulldogs who put 60 per cent of their effort in defence and then you’ve got Souths who put 60 per cent of their effort into attack. This is the intriguing battle, I reckon to win this one you’ve got to score 24-30 points. I can’t see the Dogs scoring 24 points.”
Both Johns and Brad Fittler tipped the Rabbitohs to win.
Johns elaborated on the Bulldogs’ attacking woes in his Thursday column for The Sydney Morning Herald, in which he wrote that Lachlan Galvin needed to evolve his game to allow the team to reach their pointscoring potential.
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Bulldogs half Lachlan Galvin. Getty
“From each spot on the field, Galvin can help himself by not complicating Canterbury’s attack and running just one offensive shape,” he wrote.
“So whether it’s from the middle, with a 6-4 split (as in how many defenders set up on either side of the play-the-ball, with two markers and the fullback), or with a longer shift from one side to the other, use one shape.
“Have your edge ball-runners, your middle forwards and your spine operating from one pattern. And from that, you can always roll with various options off the back of it.”
Johns added that the contrast between the way Galvin attacks and the way Rabbitohs maestro Cody Walker attacks is stark.
“To me, the match-up of Cody Walker and Lachlan Galvin says plenty. One knows his game blindfolded and is still my favourite individual player to watch,” he wrote.
“The other is only 20, remember, so he’s still learning his own game and how to bring his strike players into the contest.”
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