Wayne Bennett has warned South Sydney have a fortnight to stop the rut and turn their form around ahead of the NRL’s finals.
The Rabbitohs head into Friday night’s blockbuster against Brisbane still sitting fifth but with just three wins in their past 10 games.
They have also been dealt another blow, with Sam Burgess to miss the match after failing to overcome a quad injury in time to fly to Brisbane.
Already without his brothers Tom and George, the captain’s absence is crucial when considered Souths’ struggles during their slump have been in the middle.
Figures show that the Bunnies have won the yardage battle against their opponents just twice in their 10-game slump.
It’s a far cry from the start of the season where they out-ran their opponents in nine of the opening 11 rounds as they flew to a 10-1 start.
Since then, the Bunnies are making 166 less metres per match and conceding an extra 55 metres in defence.
It’s hurting their attack too, with Fox Sports Stats also showing they’ve scored seven less points per match since the State of Origin period began in round 11.
“If we want to stay in the top four and need to be playing well when the playoffs arrive, we’ve got three games to do it in,” Bennett said.
“We can probably go another two weeks maximum, but we’ve got to turn something around in the next couple of games.
“We’re probably not running as hard as we were when we were playing well.
“We’re just getting away from some little basic things we were doing well and not doing so well now.”
A home final is also suddenly at risk for the Rabbitohs, who could fall as low as seventh if they drop their last three games to Brisbane, the Warriors and Roosters.
Souths have at least had external reasons behind their slump.
Bennett pointed out on Friday he is well adept at rescuing teams out of post-Origin lulls, having faced the same issues at Brisbane and St George Illawarra.
They have also suffered several injuries, including Burgess’ absence for six games while superstar centre Greg Inglis was forced to retire after just two matches.
But Bennett said that couldn’t be used as an excuse.
“When we’re all playing to our ability and all playing our best and we’re still not good enough, then I will say GI and Sam were missed,” he said.
“But we’re not in that category at the moment, we’re not playing our best. They’re all not coming off saying they’ve played their best.”
