A trip to tropical north Queensland could not have come at a better time for a sodden South Sydney.
Rabbitohs playmaker Luke Keary hopes soaking up the sun ahead of Sunday’s NRL clash with Canberra in Cairns is just what the defending premiers need to reclaim their mojo in the wake of Monday night’s storm-hit 18-10 loss to the Sharks.
Keary admitted they were missing pivot Adam Reynolds, who is not due back from a knee injury until at least another month.
But the NSW Origin hopeful looked forward to a team bonding experience in their Cairns camp that may yet spark a fourth-placed South Sydney that has lost three of their past four games.
“Hopefully we get a bit of sun up there. I love the away trips when we all get to go way together and spend time together – I am looking forward to the trip,” Keary told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
No wonder Keary was looking forward to some fun in the sun – he was still shaking his head over the torrential rain and roaring winds close to 100kph that hit Remondis Stadium on Monday night.
But Keary said they could not afford to write off the result due to the freakish weather.
“The warm-up was like nothing I had experienced and that first half running into the wind was pretty tough,” he said.
“(But) I don’t think it’s one of those ones you write off. It was a game we wanted to win but we didn’t play the way we are capable of.
“We made 10 errors, they made four.
“They kicked a lot better than we did and in the end it was probably that they were more hungry than us. Those stats themselves, they say a lot about the game.”
Keary admitted South Sydney were missing Reynolds, saying the playmaker would have made a big difference on Monday night.
“Obviously. He’s been a big part of the team for three or four years now,” he said.
“When you lose someone like that you are going to miss them.
“He’s got one of the best kicking games in the comp so it would have been handy to have him there last night.
“It takes a while to adjust to those conditions. You don’t want to be kicking the ball dead and I think we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. But I think we have the players to cover him (Reynolds).”
