2007 South Sydney Rabbitohs season
The 2007 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 98th in the club's history. They competed in National Rugby League season 2007 under the new ownership of Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes à Court and with a new coach in Jason Taylor.[1] The club finished the regular season 7th (out of 16) and were knocked out of the play-offs by eventual grand-finalists Manly-Warringah.
| 2007 South Sydney Rabbitohs season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | First Grade | |||
| Play-off result | 7th | |||
| 2007 record | Wins: 12; Losses: 25 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Shane Richardson | |||
| Coach | Jason Taylor | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Telstra Stadium | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Nathan Merritt (10) | |||
| Goals | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} | |||
| Points | Joe Williams (88) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
The Rabbitohs' 2007 season was detailed in the documentary South Side Story.
After three rounds South Sydney had three wins, matching their total win tally of the previous season. The Bulldogs brought them back to earth in round 4. The Rabbitohs' co-captain, Kiwi international forward David Kidwell, then fell in a freak accident at a family barbecue and injured his knee. He would require knee re-construction surgery and was not expected to return for the rest of the season.
Souths signed Craig Wing mid-season. The Souths junior would play out the rest of 2007 with the Sydney Roosters before returning to the Rabbitohs for 2008.
For the first time in 18 years the South Sydney Rabbitohs made it to the finals series, finishing in 7th position.
Roy Asotasi won the George Piggins Medal as the club's player of the year.
Results
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melbourne |
24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 |  Manly-Warringah |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 |  North Queensland |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 |  Warriors |
24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 |  Parramatta |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 |  Bulldogs |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 |  South Sydney |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 |  Brisbane |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 |  Wests Tigers |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 |  Sydney |
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 |  Gold Coast |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 |  St George Illawarra |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 |  Canberra |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 650 | −128 | 20 |
| 15 |  Newcastle |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 |  Penrith |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |
Players
| Player | Appearances | Tries | Goals | F Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Williams | 14 | 1 | 40/51 | 2 | 86 |
| Nathan Merritt | 22 | 10 | 17/26 | 74 | |
| Nigel Vagana | 24 | 7 | 28 | ||
| Fetuli Talanoa | 11 | 6 | 24 | ||
| Yileen Gordon | 7 | 5 | 20 | ||
| Dean Widders | 24 | 5 | 20 | ||
| Roy Asotasi | 24 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Shannon Hegarty | 18 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Paul Mellor | 18 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Jeremy Smith | 21 | 4 | 16 | ||
| David Fa'alogo | 22 | 3 | 12 | ||
| David Peachey | 14 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Ben Rogers | 14 | 3 | 12 | ||
| John Sutton | 15 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Issac Luke | 13 | 2 | 2/3 | 12 | |
| Eddie Paea | 3 | 2 | 0/2 | 8 | |
| Shane Rigon | 19 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Reece Simmonds | 7 | 1 | 2/2 | 8 | |
| Daniel Irvine | 11 | 1 | 4 | ||
| David Kidwell | 4 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Beau Champion | 1 | ||||
| Peter Cusack | 24 | ||||
| Joe Galuvao | 4 | ||||
| Scott Geddes | 11 | ||||
| Michael Greenfield | 4 | ||||
| Jaiman Lowe | 10 | ||||
| Manase Manuokafoa | 13 | ||||
| Shannan McPherson | 3 | ||||
| Eddy Pettybourne | 1 | ||||
| Luke Stuart | 23 | ||||
| Stuart Webb | 9 | ||||
Player movements
Gains
| 2008 Signings/Transfers | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Previous Club | Years Signed | Until the End of | |||||||
| Craig Wing | Sydney Roosters | 4 | 2011 | |||||||
| Nathanael Barnes | Tweed Heads Seagulls | |||||||||
| John Tamanika | Brisbane Easts Tigers | |||||||||
| Jamie Simpson | Toowoomba Clydesdales | |||||||||
| Luke Capewell | Brisbane Easts Tigers | |||||||||
| George Ndaira | Sydney Roosters | |||||||||
| Chris Sandow | Gold Coast Titans | |||||||||
Losses
| Losses | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Future Club/Playing Status | |||||||||
| David Peachey | Retired | |||||||||
| Daniel Irvine | Retired | |||||||||
| Paul Mellor | Retired | |||||||||
| Shane Rigon | Retired | |||||||||
| Reece Simmonds | Retired | |||||||||
| Joe Williams | Penrith Panthers | |||||||||
| Joe Galuvao | Parramatta Eels | |||||||||
| Stuart Webb | St. George Illawarra Dragons | |||||||||
| Joe Falemaka | St. George Illawarra Dragons | |||||||||
| Jardine Bobongie | St. George Illawarra Dragons | |||||||||
| Peter Cusack | Hull | |||||||||
Re-Signings
| Re-Signings | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Years Signed | Until the End of | ||||||||
| Jaiman Lowe | 2 | 2009 | ||||||||
| Luke Stuart | 1 | 2008 | ||||||||
| David Fa'alogo | 4 | 2011 | ||||||||
| Fetuli Talanoa | 3 | 2010 | ||||||||
| Yileen Gordon | 2 | 2009 | ||||||||
| Eddie Paea | 1 | 2008 | ||||||||
| Issac Luke | 2 | 2009 | ||||||||
| Michael Greenfield | 2 | 2009 | ||||||||
| John Sutton | 3 | 2011 | ||||||||
| Nathan Merritt | 3 | 2011 | ||||||||
Kit and Sponsors
National Australia Bank
The National Australia Bank was the Rabbitohs major home sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.
DeLonghi
DeLonghi was the major away sponsor for the Rabbitohs in the 2007 Telstra Premiership.
V8 Supercars Australia
V8 Supercars was the Rabbitohs major sleeve sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.
Virgin Blue
Virgin Blue was the Rabbitohs major training sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.
Player statistics
| Player | Appearances | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
Representative Honours
| Player | All Stars | ANZAC Test | Pacific Test | City / Country | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Four Nations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
References
- Gallop, David (2007). "Australian Rugby Football League Annual Report 2007" (PDF). Australian Rugby League Limited. p. 5. Archived from the original (pdf) on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.