NRL ELIMINATION FINAL BETWEEN SOUTH SYDNEY AND NEWCASTLE:-
WHEN: Sunday, 4.05pm AEDT
WHERE: ANZ Stadium, Brisbane
THE FORM
* South Sydney (sixth, 11 wins, nine losses). At their best they can beat the competition’s front-runners, but are yet to do it consistently. Flogged the Sydney Roosters 60-8 last round, after being shocked by Canterbury just a week earlier.
* Newcastle (seventh, 11 wins, eight losses, one draw). Ditto South Sydney. Have also shown their ability to match it with the best with a win over Canberra and a draw with Penrith. But their 36-6 loss to Gold Coast last week highlights their inconsistency.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
* Overall: Played 43, South Sydney 16, Newcastle 27
* In finals: First meeting
* Last time: Round 10, 2020: Newcastle 20 bt South Sydney 18 at Hunter Stadium
THE COACHES
* Wayne Bennett has coached more NRL finals matches than any other man in history, with 68. But he is looking to break a drought of his own at South Sydney, with 10 years since his last premiership the longest break of his career.
* In comparison Adam O’Brien is coaching his first finals match and is the only rookie mentor in this years playoffs. Has done a great job helping the Knights to their first finals in seven years.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Corey Allan (South Sydney) v Kalyn Ponga (Newcastle)
This marks Corey Allan’s biggest test at fullback, with the 22-year-old having so far passed with flying colours since taking over from the injured Latrell Mitchell. Highly touted since his teenage years, Allan has had plenty of involvement in attack and is combining nicely with Cody Walker. Meanwhile Ponga is playing in his first finals match at Newcastle after arriving as the golden child in 2017. He needs to spark the Knights attack.
Adam Reynolds (South Sydney) v Mitchell Pearce (Newcastle)
Two men who have worn the No.7 jersey for NSW have to stand up in the business end of the season. Reynolds was sensational last week against the Sydney Roosters, bettered only by halves partner Cody Walker in the 60-8 win. Pearce meanwhile hasn’t been as impressive, but knows he was brought to Newcastle just for moments like this. Reynolds holds a 5-4 advantage between the pair.
Tom Burgess (South Sydney) v David Klemmer (Newcastle)
Klemmer has had arguably his best year in club football, sitting among the leading metre-eaters of all NRL forwards with 161 metres per match. He’s also put the offload back in his game with 45 this season, making for a lethal combination up front with Daniel Saifiti. Burgess must meanwhile lead South Sydney’s pack in a finals series for the first time on Sunday, after the Rabbitohs lost brothers Sam and George at the end of last year.
THE STATS
* Newcastle’s 62.8 per cent win record against South Sydney is their best against any side.
* South Sydney become the seventh side to enter the finals after winning by more than 50 in the last round. Of the six teams previous, three have won and three have lost.
THE TIP
* South Sydney by six