It’s been a year of milestones for the Rabbitohs both on and off the field, with the Club’s history books needing an update on an almost regular basis in 2013.From record crowd figures, to points and appearance records being ammended, 2013 has been a watershed year for the Rabbitohs, who finished second overall – the highest end of season ranking since the Minor Premiership winning season of 1989 – while the year was also made memorable by the on-field achievements of home-grown talent such as John Sutton, Adam Reynolds and Nathan Merritt.We look at a few of the moments and achievements that re-wrote Rabbitohs history in 2013.2000th GameIn an illustrious history that has spanned 105 years, seen 20 Premierships and some of the game’s best talent, the Rabbitohs’ round 26 match against the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium marked the Club’s 2000th appearance in the top grade.Biggest Regular Season Crowd & Highest Home & Away Attendance AverageAs though the Club’s 2000th appearance weren’t enough of an occasion, round 26 also turned out to be a battle for the Minor Premiership as well as the prestigious Ron Coote Cup against none other than cross-town rivals, the Sydney Roosters. A crowd befitting of the occasion was on hand to see it.A record regular-season crowd of 59,708 packed into ANZ Stadium for the all-important clash with a sea of red and green. While the match went the way of the Roosters, Souths took home the Ron Coote Cup along with the highest home and away attendance average (22,489), beating one team city and consistent performers Brisbane, who ended their season with an average of 22,265.But round 26 wasn’t the only hot ticket during 2013, with Souths also having played in front of a crowd of 51,686 on Good Friday against the Canterbury Bulldogs in round four, with the Rabbitohs coming out victors to the tune of 17-12.Merritt & Sutton Reach 200 GamesOnly three Rabbitohs had ever had the rare honour of playing over 200 games in the red and green. But all that changed in 2013 when both John Sutton and Nathan Merritt reached the milestone in the latter half of the season.The two South Sydney Juniors joined fellow Juniors and Rabbitohs living legends; Bob McCarthy, Craig Coleman and Eric Simms in the 200 Club – Sutton in round 20 against the Titans on the Gold Coast, and Merritt in round 22 against the Storm in Melbourne.Merritt Equals Wearing’s Try-scoring recordThe year got even better for Nathan Merritt in the milestones category when in the Preliminary Final against Manly, the Rabbitohs flyer equalled the Club’s all-time try-scoring record of 144 tries, a record held by Souths legend, Benny Wearing.Wearing’s 80 year old record looked certain to fall to Merritt in 2013, who has made a habit of finding the stripe since debuting for the Club in round nine of the 2002 season. Merritt now only needs only a single four-pointer to take honour in 2014.Most Competition Points & Match Points in Rabbitohs HistoryRemarkably, despite having won 20 Premierships in 105 years, 2013 was significant for the Rabbitohs in the point-scoring stakes as the Michael Maguire coached side cracked 40 competition points for the first time ever.In addition, the Rabbitohs scored the most points on the field in the Club’s history during the regular season, amassing 588 for with only 384 against.Reynolds Maintains Highest Goal-Kicking Percentage in Recorded HistoryThe brilliant goal-kicking of Adam Reynolds has become a feature of any Rabbitohs game, with the little halfback regularly slotting goals from all distances and angles consistently. But it’s just how consistent that goal-kicking has been that is astounding.The Rabbitohs half currently holds the game’s highest goal-kicking percentage since records have been kept, at 87.4% - surpassing all of the game’s famed sharp-shooters including Hazem El Masri, Darryl Halligan, Andrew Johns and Jason Taylor.Four Burgess’ – One TeamFor the first time in 103 years, a quartet of brothers took the field in a first grade match, with the honour going to the Burgess brothers, Luke, Sam, George and Thomas. Not since 1910 when Ray, Roy, Rex and Bernard Norman played for the now-defunct Annandale club had the feat been replicated, with both Sam and Luke scoring tries to mark the occasion.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 07:51:55 +0000
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