Lowe gets his ribs right to go again

The first thing Ethan Lowe did when he got back inside the ANZ Stadium dressing sheds following the Rabbitohs' semi-final win over Manly was check his rib cage.

He had only been on the ground 31 minutes but survived not one, but two full-on Jorge Taufua tackles in the second half of the 34-26 victory.

"They were all there thankfully," Lowe told NRL.com as he moved his fingers down both the left and right sides of his chest.

"The first one was a good shot – knocked the wind out of me. But that's what happens in footy. You get up, play the ball, and keep going," he said.

"The second one didn't hurt quite as much so happy days."

Lowe is confident the South Sydney high performance team will bring his ribs "back to life" in time to face a John Bateman, Sio Soliola or Josh Papalii hit when the Rabbitohs play the Raiders at GIO Stadium in Friday night's preliminary final.

Lowe's bounce-back capabilities aren't the only treats he brings to the Rabbitohs table.

He's played in two grand finals in the past four years – the 2015 maiden win with the Cowboys over the Broncos and the 2017 loss to the Storm, also with the Cowboys.

So preliminary finals are something he's very familiar with.

"The teams at this time of year know each other very well and know how to get out of tight situations," he said.

"It doesn't matter who you win, you've just got to do it.

"We've not been at our absolute best the past couple of weeks but we've been able to get a bit of possession and ball control, defend really well on our line and keep competing.

"From my other finals experience I just learned to have that kind of patience and to never give up."

The Raiders-Rabbitohs match brings a mini 'Battle of Britain' as the Burgess brothers meet England teammates Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead and Bateman.

Most fans would want to sit back in the stands with a bag of popcorn and watch those contests, but not Lowe.

"Not me. I want to be amongst it," he said. "They are a terrific challenge for us – for any team – but we just have to muscle up in the middle and we've got the players for that."

And the Rabbitohs have another powerful force with England connections in Test coach Wayne Bennett on their side.

"He brought us into the circle after the Manly win and told us 'It's not about how good you win them [matches] at this time of year, it's just about winning them'," Lowe said.

"We did enough to get that and knowing that Wayne backs us no matter how we get the result is important. He has a lot of trust in us and it's very reassuring to feel that."