‘We realise that’: Bennett admits to nagging Rabbitohs issue

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has admitted his side is facing a goalkicking issue after Jayden Sullivan kicked one from four against the Bulldogs.

Sullivan is South Sydney’s third-choice kicker with Matt Dufty even having a crack, and missing, on Friday night.

The Rabbitohs halfback had to take the role because Latrell Mitchell, Jamie Humphreys and Ashton Ward are all out injured. Ward injured his hamstring goalkicking last week.

Post-match, Bennett was happy to expand on whether the goalkicking was a problem.

“Yeah, it is actually,” he said.

“We’ve got three of them with injuries but can’t do much about it. We’ve just got to keep scoring tries and make sure we defend well. Humphreys should be back in a week or two, he can certainly kick goals.”

The two points will only become more important as finals approach and margins grow tighter.

Read more

Thurston condemns Crichton’s ‘easy option’ referee act as Souths stamp finals credentials

Bennett wasn’t shying away from how important conversions and penalties would be.

“Yeah, they are, and we realise that, but we’ve got to manage what we’ve got at the moment, and we have no kickers available,” he said.

At one stage during Sullivan’s goalkicking it looked like he’d done the same injury as Ward as he hobbled around the field.

However, the 24-year-old played on with Bennett ribbing the youngster saying, “I’m not sure he knows what he’s got”.

The coach was happy to give him praise for his performance, though.

“I was really pleased with him. He’s had such a tough season with what happened last August when he played state league and broke his ankle,” he said.

“He had a few setbacks with that, spent Christmas in hospital with an infection, and couldn’t train properly in pre-season. I gave him a couch for the bench because he was sitting on it that long.

“The moment came (tonight) and he’s grabbed it, and he’s a quality football player, and I’m really pleased with him.”

While Sullivan was impressive, the star of the show was David Fifita who played his best match since joining the Rabbitohs.

Fifita’s try, 136 run metres and six tackles earned him the player of the match award. However, Bennett wasn’t interested in giving him a wrap.

“David? I can’t afford to give David wraps; he reads papers,” he smiled.

Among the Rabbitohs’ injury concerns, Bennett did admit Adam Elliott would have a stint on the sidelines after he left the field with a groin problem.