bunniesreport

With a new team and world-renowned fame as a result of their premiership in 1999-00, the 1971 rabbitohs were formed. Few movements to and from the club resulted in a strong outfit, ready to defend their premiership. Matt Topham and David Chalmers returned from overseas competitions after they came to the conclusion that the level of competition is nowhere as strong. Sadly, the Bunnies were unable to retain one of the most talented players in the game, Nathan Lai who retired due to work commitments. The bunnies wish him the best in his new vocation, and assure him that he will always be welcome to pull on the coveted great league teams jumper.

With round one of the competition kicking off on a balmy summer afternoon, the Bunnies were in for a rude shock. Clearly considering themselves the mark that other teams must strive to match, the bunnies played like, well bunnies, and started the season with a 4-3 loss. The only player showing any form of resistance being the captain, Johnny Sattler (Angus St John). Coming away with two tries, Sattler tried his heart out, only to be frustrated time and time again by inconsistent and downright embarrassing play by his teammates.

The second round bye and third round washout was poorly timed for the bunnies, who needed to get back on the horse after being so badly bucked off in round one.

The bunnies entered round four with just the one loss under their belts, and clearly lacked match fitness, after playing only one game in a month. Realising that the bunnies were lacking some attacking prowess, captain Sattler approached the board of selectors, who subsequently agreed to bring into the team the unknown quantity of Paul Tait. However, this ploy did not pay immediate dividends, as the bunnies copped a 6-3 thrashing at the hands of some clowns. The frustration clearly showing on the face of John �Lurch� O�Neill, when he was sent from the field for abusing the referee.

Again, the weather played a part in the poor opening to the season for the bunnies, with round 5 also being washed out. By this stage, the bunnies had played just two extremely poor games of football in five regular season rounds.

The coaching staff of the bunnies were facing an enormous amount of pressure, and chopped and changed the starting line-up in an attempt to strike some form of balance. This included bringing into the team Barney Miller and Kiwi Josh, who had played the first part of the season in reserve grade. The ploy adopted by the coach didn�t pay off however, with the bunnies recording their third loss of the season, once again losing 6-3.

By this stage, Captain Sattler was positively fuming. Team harmony was at an all-time low, with John �Lurch� O�Neill quitting amidst much controversy, citing a back injury as the reason for his withdrawal from the team. The players returning from overseas competitions, Eric �The Schlong� Simms (Matt Topham), and Dennis �The Sneak� Pittard (David Chalmers), were clearly suffering from playing in a soft competition, with many personnel, both within the ranks of the club and external reporters were calling for their heads. Ron Coote (Iain Hassall) was also facing an uphill battle to retain the Number 8 jumper, with performances well below par.

The hot summer sun was shining across the home ground of the bunnies on what was the final match of the first half of the season, before many players took up their representative duties. The bunnies were eager to go into the break with a win under their belts, and who better to do it against than their arch rivals, the legends�

Clearly the bunnies needed the more experienced players to step up to the mark, and who better to do this than Bob McCarthy (Peter Tate), Paul Tait, and captain Sattler. These players finished the match with stellar performances, scoring 2 tries each. Dennis �The Sneak� Pittard also ran in a superb try, and was unlucky not to pick up the player�s player award. This award went to Ron Coote, whose performance was easily his best of the season. The bunnies put in a gutsy performance to record a 7-5 victory. Bob McCarthy led the drinking, that lasted well into the night.

The return from representative duties saw the bunnies start to find some form in the second half of the season. A round 8 draw was followed by a remarkable run, which saw the bunnies go unbeaten for the second half of the season.

The bunnies were firing. The return of the other Dennis �The Sneak� Pittard (Cameron Hassall) added much needed flair to the side. Superb second-half of the season performances by Ray �Blackjack� Brannighan (Errol Schulz) who snared two player�s player awards, Bobby Grant (Richie Currie), and Schlong Simms who scored an unheard of 4 tries in 3 matches.

Keith �Angry� Edwards (Todd Payne) showed the team what defence was all about, with crushing tackles that were occasionally pulled up for being a touch heavy.
Gary Stevens (Phil Badgery) was called away to representative duties for much of the second half of the season, but he did manage to sneak in a couple of games, which saw him run in a 95 metre try which involved beating all 14 defenders (the coach had a bash at tackling him).
Paul Sait (James Harrison) also showed glimpses of his attacking genius in the second half of the season, scoring tries in 3 of the final 6 matches.

Bob Honan (James Anderson) was saving his best for the finals series, and only managed to sneak in a couple of games. Nevertheless, he always managed to make it to post-match celebrations, which were now a regular feature of the week for the bunnies who couldn�t see a dark cloud in the sky.
But the dark clouds were looming� A curse had been placed on the Bunnies, with the CEO of the competition confidently predicting a Bunnies premiership. The team went into camp without a worry in the world, which showed when they were edged out of the major semi-final 5-4. A performance that was well below par shocked the team immensely.

Each player had time to reflect on their performances during the week, but alas their heart wasn�t in the game in the sudden-death final. Again the team failed to fire, and when the game went into overtime, the Bunnies went into their hole, and collapsed under the pressure.

Many a team would have been devastated, however in true Great Rugby League Teams style, once the esky was opened, tinnies consumed, and Richie Currie was throwing ice at GT, all memories of the season faded, with the players eagerly awaiting the beginning of a new season. But who would they be�