This Sunday marks a very special occasion for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Not only will they make the trip down the Hume Highway to do battle with the Canberra Raiders, but they will do so in celebration of local junior Keaon Koloamatangi as he plays his 100th game in the NRL.
Koloamatangi played his junior football with the Mascot Jets, he bleeds red and green, and is South Sydney through-and-through. Predominantly an edge forward since debuting against the Storm in round four 2020, Keaon has made the transition to the middle this year. While his venture into the middle of the field has been brief so far, Koloamatangi’s physicality and appetite for hard work have seen him take to his new position like a duck to water. These qualities have also earned him higher honours in the game, achieving four caps for the Tongan national side and one game for the New South Wales Blues.
With two vital competition points up for grabs, the Rabbitohs will certainly be looking to aim up for Keaon and secure an important win this Sunday against the Green Machine.
South Sydney have been on a hot run of form that has seen them win six of their last seven games. With Canberra sitting in eleventh place just one win ahead of the Rabbitohs, victory in this match is imperative if the Rabbitohs are to stay in touching distance of the top eight.
Despite the big task ahead, South Sydney’s recent winning run will give Members, supporter and players alike the confidence that they have what it takes to get the job done against the Raiders in Canberra.
The Rabbitohs have not travelled to the Nation’s Capital since round eight 2021, when they took on Canberra on a typically cold Thursday night in April. On this occasion, they came out on top 34-20 after overcoming a 16-14 halftime deficit.
Alex Johnston crossed for a double, while Campbell Graham, Jaydn Su’a and Dane Gagai all got tries of their own. Cody Walker played fullback that night and had a hand in everything in typical Walker fashion. Now plying his trade at halfback, Cody will be hoping to channel his efforts from round eight 2021 into another complete performance for his beloved Rabbitohs in this game.
As a result of injury and suspension, coach Ben Hornby has been forced to make several changes to the side that defeated the Tigers last weekend. A head knock to Richie Kennar in the Tigers game sees the versatile Michael Chee Kam shift out wide into the centres. Jacob Host will return from injury into the back row to cover for Chee Kam. While Tallis Duncan will man the other edge like last week coming in for the suspended Cameron Murray.
Stat Attack
- The Rabbitohs last travelled to Canberra in 2021, beating their hosts 34-20.
- Alex Johnston has scored in the Rabbitohs’ last three matches against the Raiders (including two doubles).
- Keaon Koloamatangi has not missed a game for the Rabbitohs this season, scoring four tries for his efforts.
- Koloamatangi has run the most metres of any player for the Rabbitohs this year, with 2869 metres from 17 games at an average of 168 metres per game.
