On the field, things could not be looking much better for South Sydney heading into Saturday's elimination final against Parramatta.
They scored 106 points in recent wins over the Roosters and Newcastle and the likes of Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Adam Reynolds are at the top of their games.
Now they face a Parramatta side that pushed Melbourne for the opening hour of their qualifying final against the Storm.
The Eels are staring down the barrel of a straight-sets exit from the finals unless they can rediscover the form that served them so well in the opening two months following the resumption of the season.
Match: Eels v Rabbitohs
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Eels
3rd Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
6th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
The rundown
Team news
Eels: Centre Michael Jennings has been stood down after a positive test, announced by the NRL on Saturday morning. The club has been granted an exemption to bring Haze Dunster back into the squad to replace Jennings in the back line.
Oregon Kaufusi and Daniel Alvaro are the final match-day cuts.
Winger Blake Ferguson has succumbed to a knee injury and will miss the sudden-death clash with Souths. Brad Takairangi comes into the starting side.
George Jennings has come in on the other wing for Maika Sivo (knee). Ray Stone is the new bench player replacing suspended forward Marata Niukore.
The Eels have won nine from 12 at Bankwest Stadium in 2020.
Rabbitohs: Souths will start 1-17 after Steven Marsters and Hame Sele were the final omissions from the match-day squad.
Wayne Bennett has named the same 17 that defeated Newcastle last week. Jaydn Su'A is listed to start and Liam Knight is on the bench.
Hooker Damien Cook looked to be struggling with a leg injury in the second half against Newcastle. However, he scorched 80 metres to score a late try to ease concerns.
Troy Dargan and Patrick Mago were cut from the reserves 24 hours before kick-off.
Match: Eels v Rabbitohs
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Eels
away Team
Rabbitohs
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Eels is number 1 Clinton GuthersonFullback for Rabbitohs is number 1 Corey Allan
-
Winger for Eels is number 2 George JenningsWinger for Rabbitohs is number 2 Alex Johnston
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Centre for Eels is number 4 Waqa BlakeCentre for Rabbitohs is number 3 Campbell Graham
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Centre for Eels is number 19 Brad TakairangiCentre for Rabbitohs is number 4 Dane Gagai
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Winger for Eels is number 20 Haze DunsterWinger for Rabbitohs is number 5 Jaxson Paulo
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Five-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Dylan BrownFive-Eighth for Rabbitohs is number 6 Cody Walker
-
Halfback for Eels is number 7 Mitchell MosesHalfback for Rabbitohs is number 7 Adam Reynolds
Forwards
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Prop for Eels is number 8 Reagan Campbell-GillardProp for Rabbitohs is number 8 Tevita Tatola
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Hooker for Eels is number 9 Reed MahoneyHooker for Rabbitohs is number 9 Damien Cook
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Prop for Eels is number 10 Junior PauloProp for Rabbitohs is number 10 Thomas Burgess
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2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Shaun Lane2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 11 Jaydn Su'a
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2nd Row for Eels is number 12 Ryan Matterson2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 12 Bayley Sironen
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Lock for Eels is number 13 Nathan BrownLock for Rabbitohs is number 13 Cameron Murray
Interchange
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Interchange for Eels is number 14 Will SmithInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 14 Mark Nicholls
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Interchange for Eels is number 15 Andrew DaveyInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 15 Liam Knight
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Interchange for Eels is number 16 Kane EvansInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 16 Jed Cartwright
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Interchange for Eels is number 17 Ray StoneInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 17 Keaon Koloamatangi
Match Officials
- Referee: Gerard Sutton
- Touch Judge: Dave Munro
- Touch Judge: Todd Smith
- Senior Review Official: Jared Maxwell
Last updated:
Key match-up
Adam Reynolds v Mitchell Moses. For the Eels to win, Moses is going to have to match it with Reynolds. Moses has all the skills in his kit bag, now he needs to produce it on the big stage.
As for Reynolds, he and Walker are forming a deadly combination that will have Brad Arthur pondering how best to nullify them.
Stat attack
It's a saying as old as time, but you can't win matches if you don't have the ball. The Eels had just 43 per cent of possession in their loss to the Storm. The completed their sets at an acceptable 79 per cent, but all that time spent defending hurt them in the second half. They won't want a repeat of that this week.
