Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles: Kick-off delayed; Keppie to start
With a grand final berth on the line, the Rabbitohs are looking to bid farewell to Wayne Bennett and Adam Reynolds on a high note while Manly continue to ride the wave of one of the great individual seasons from Tom Trbojevic.
The Rabbitohs turned the finals series on its head with a shock win over Penrith in the opening week of the finals, ending the chances of another Panthers-Storm premiership decider.
Kick-off for the preliminary final will be at 8.05pm after the Sea Eagles bus was delayed by traffic.
Instead, South Sydney or Manly will advance from this Friday's clash at Suncorp Stadium following two sensational attacking performances from these clubs.
Earlier this season the Rabbitohs became the first team in premiership history to score 30 points in eight consecutive matches.
Sportsbet Betting preview: Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles
Even without suspended fullback Latrell Mitchell they managed to get the better of Penrith, the league's best defensive team, in the qualifying finals.
Meanwhile, Manly became the first team to have three players score at least 20 tries this season in Trbojevic, Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick.
The Sea Eagles were missing their talismanic fullback in the only previous meeting between these sides in 2021, with Souths prevailing 26-12 in round two.
But Manly are a different side since then, making this clash a particularly intriguing prospect with a huge prize up for grabs.
Match: Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles
Finals Week 3 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
3rd Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
4th Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
The rundown
Team news
Rabbitohs: Wayne Bennett's team will start 1-17 with Patrick Mago the 18th man.
There are no injury concerns for the Bunnies with coach Wayne Bennett sticking with the same team that upset Penrith in week one of the finals.
Apart from suspended fullback Latrell Mitchell and winger Josh Mansour (knee), Souths are rested and at full strength for the preliminary final.
"The bodies are a bit fresher after not having to play [last week] and mentally we could switch off and just prepare for this week," captain Adam Reynolds said.
Braidon Burns and Jed Cartwright were omitted from the reserves list on Thursday night.
The Rabbitohs have won five of their past six games against the Sea Eagles.
Sea Eagles: In a positional change announced an hour before kick-off, Sean Keppie moves into the starting side at prop with Martin Taupau dropping back to the bench.
Despite being described as "ready to go" by coach Des Hasler on Thursday, Brad Parker is out with a hand injury with Moses Suli replacing him at centre.
Tevita Funa will be Manly's 18th man.
Parker and Curtis Sironen dropped out of the extended squad 24 hours before kick-off.
Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic requires one try to break Phil Blake’s club try-scoring record.
Match: Rabbitohs v Sea Eagles
Finals Week 3 -
home Team
Rabbitohs
away Team
Sea Eagles
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Rabbitohs is number 1 Blake TaaffeFullback for Sea Eagles is number 1 Tom Trbojevic
-
Winger for Rabbitohs is number 2 Alex JohnstonWinger for Sea Eagles is number 2 Jason Saab
-
Centre for Rabbitohs is number 3 Dane GagaiCentre for Sea Eagles is number 4 Morgan Harper
-
Centre for Rabbitohs is number 4 Campbell GrahamCentre for Sea Eagles is number 19 Moses Suli
-
Winger for Rabbitohs is number 5 Jaxson PauloWinger for Sea Eagles is number 5 Reuben Garrick
-
Five-Eighth for Rabbitohs is number 6 Cody WalkerFive-Eighth for Sea Eagles is number 6 Kieran Foran
-
Halfback for Rabbitohs is number 7 Adam ReynoldsHalfback for Sea Eagles is number 7 Daly Cherry-Evans
Forwards
-
Prop for Rabbitohs is number 8 Mark NichollsProp for Sea Eagles is number 8 Josh Aloiai
-
Hooker for Rabbitohs is number 9 Damien CookHooker for Sea Eagles is number 9 Lachlan Croker
-
Prop for Rabbitohs is number 10 Tevita TatolaProp for Sea Eagles is number 16 Sean Keppie
-
2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 11 Keaon Koloamatangi2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 11 Haumole Olakau'atu
-
2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 12 Jaydn Su'A2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 12 Josh Schuster
-
Lock for Rabbitohs is number 13 Cameron MurrayLock for Sea Eagles is number 13 Jake Trbojevic
Interchange
-
Interchange for Rabbitohs is number 14 Benji MarshallInterchange for Sea Eagles is number 10 Martin Taupau
-
Interchange for Rabbitohs is number 15 Jacob HostInterchange for Sea Eagles is number 14 Dylan Walker
-
Interchange for Rabbitohs is number 16 Thomas BurgessInterchange for Sea Eagles is number 15 Karl Lawton
-
Interchange for Rabbitohs is number 17 Jai ArrowInterchange for Sea Eagles is number 17 Taniela Paseka
Reserves
-
Reserve for Rabbitohs is number 19 Patrick MagoReserve for Sea Eagles is number 21 Tevita Funa
Match Officials
- Referee: Ashley Klein
- Touch Judge: Jon Stone
- Touch Judge: Phil Henderson
- Senior Review Official: Grant Atkins
Last updated:
Key match-up
This could be the last hurrah as a Rabbitoh for Adam Reynolds, who is bound for the Broncos next season, and he's up against the incumbent Kangaroos No.7 Daly Cherry-Evans.
Both halfbacks have been instrumental in their team's success this year, Reynolds with his renowned long kicking game and sharpshooting ability while DCE's looping passes to his wide men have made Manly a try-scoring threat from anywhere on the field.
While the headlines will be focused on South Sydney's efforts to shut down Tom Trbojevic, this battle of the halfbacks could go a long way towards deciding this contest.
Stat attack
Manly goal-kicker Reuben Garrick is on the hunt for Hazem El Masri's record for the most points by an individual in a season, with 322.
The Bulldogs great scored 342 in the 2004 season with 16 tries and 139 goals, while Garrick has 21 tries and 112 goals for the Sea Eagles in 2021.
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