A win over Parramatta would go a long way towards sewing up a top-four finish, but that’s not why South Sydney centre Matt King says the Rabbitohs need the two NRL competition points on Sunday.
Back-to-back losses have stopped the Souths juggernaut in its tracks, King adamant it’s now or never if the Bunnies want to make an impact in the finals series.
“It’s must-win purely for Souths – I’m not talking about the table, I’m not talking about semi-finals,” King said.
“I don’t want to say must-win – we need to get back on track and play the way we know – if we play the footy we can, usually we go okay.
“September’s all about momentum and confidence and belief and we had all three of those things three weeks ago.
“The belief around the place is still really high, momentum’s obviously taken a fair whack.
“We’ve got two weeks to get that right before September.”
That starts on Sunday at ANZ Stadium against an Eels outfit still motivated by a desperation to avoid the wooden spoon.
King says the Rabbitohs too need to rediscover some desperation of their own, which was evident during the six-match winning streak which preceded the past fortnight.
“NRL wins aren’t just handed to you,” King said.
“You have to work for absolutely everything you get in this competition and we’ve let ourselves down in that department against Manly and Cronulla.”
The Rabbitohs will be without star hooker Issac Luke after he was dropped to the NSW – with suggestions it may have been as punishment for a training altercation with a teammate.
With three wins from the past five matches – including victories over top-eight sides Melbourne and Brisbane – Parramatta have made life a little uneasy for some of the high-flyers.
Key to the late season surge has been halfback Chris Sandow, though he can expect a warm welcome from the the Rabbitohs fans who once adored him.
Former teammate Greg Inglis denied there would be any special treatment in store for the Eels No.7, but he was sure the cheeky playmaker would come looking for him.
“He’s just another Parramatta player and that’s the way we see him,” Inglis said.
“With Chrissy, he definitely will be coming for me on those high kicks – I’ll be waiting for him.”
