2008 South Sydney Rabbitohs season

The 2008 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 99th in the club's history. Coached by Jason Taylor and captained by David Kidwell & Roy Asotasi, the team competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 14th place out of 16 teams and so failing to reach the finals. The club also competed in the 2008 Under-20s competition.

2008 South Sydney Rabbitohs season
NRL RankFirst Grade
Play-off resultMissed the Finals
2008 recordWins: 8; losses: 16
Team information
CEOShane Richardson
CoachJason Taylor
Captain
StadiumANZ Stadium
Top scorers
TriesNathan Merritt (13)
GoalsAustralia
PointsIssac Luke (106)
← 2007 2009 →

On 26 January 2008, the Rabbitohs played the Leeds Rhinos at the Hodges Stadium at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, the first time first-grade professional rugby league teams from Australia and England played each other in the United States. A crowd of about 12,000 attended with Russell Crowe, Greg Norman, and the stars of television show American Chopper among the audience. Leeds Rhinos won the game 26-24(after having been behind 26-0 at half-time South Sydney staged an unlikely comeback that fell agonisingly short).

South Sydney equalled the second-biggest comeback in premiership history in Round 16 against the North Queensland Cowboys. After trailing 28–4 after fifty minutes, the Rabbitohs won the match 29–28.[1]

No Rabbitohs players were selected for the 2008 State of Origin series, however at the end of season 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament four were selected to play for Tonga (Manase Manuokafoa, Eddie Paea, Fetuli Talanoa and Joel Taufa'ao); three for the successful New Zealand squad (David Fa'alogo, David Kidwell and Issac Luke) and one captained Samoa (Nigel Vagana).

Ladder

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Melbourne Storm 24 17 0 7 2 584 282 +302 38
2   Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) 24 17 0 7 2 645 355 +290 38
3   Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 17 0 7 2 451 384 +67 38
4   Sydney Roosters 24 15 0 9 2 511 446 +65 34
5   Brisbane Broncos 24 14 1 9 2 560 452 +108 33
6   Canberra Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 +113 30
7   St George Illawarra Dragons 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 +111 30
8   New Zealand Warriors 24 13 0 11 2 502 567 -65 30
9   Newcastle Knights 24 12 0 12 2 516 486 +30 28
10   Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 528 560 -32 26
11   Parramatta Eels 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 -46 26
12   Penrith Panthers 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 -107 25
13   Gold Coast Titans 24 10 0 14 2 476 586 -110 24
14   South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 8 0 16 2 453 666 -213 20
15   North Queensland Cowboys 24 5 0 19 2 474 638 -164 14
16   Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 5 0 19 2 433 782 -349 14

Player statistics

edit
Player Appearances Tries Goals Field Goals Total Points

Representative Honours

edit
Player All Stars ANZAC Test Pacific Test City / Country State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Four Nations

References

edit
  1. ^ "Rabbitohs Results 2001 to 2010". rabbitohs.com.au. South Sydney Rabbitohs. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.