Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett knows his team can play much better than what they showed against the Storm on Thursday night.
The premiership fancies gave up four first-half tries to trail 22-0, before eventually falling to a 26-18 loss to the Storm in the season opener in Melbourne.
It comes a fortnight after the Rabbitohs blitzed the Dragons in the annual Charity Shield clash and Bennett said it seemed many of his players expected that strong pre-season form would continue against last year's premiers.
"It comes back to attitude and it just wasn't there," Bennett said after the loss.
"Melbourne were good, they always are, it's a credit to how they play and they wanted it more than we did.
"It might be a bit of hype, but there will be no hype around them today or for the next week or so."
Two players to impress against the Storm were off-season recruits Benji Marshall and Jai Arrow and Bennett would have liked to see a few of their teammates follow their lead.
Match Highlights: Storm v Rabbitohs
Marshall looked composed with ball in hand during 50 minutes of playing time, while Arrow ran for 176 metres in an eye-catching performance off the bench.
"Benji didn't let us down... he made a difference when he came on," Bennett said.
"Benji and Jai Arrow were playing their first games for South Sydney and they wanted to impress everyone, and a whole lot of other guys that have played a lot for South Sydney were hoping they would get an easy night."
The Rabbitohs believe Tom Burgess has escaped serious injury after the giant prop left the clash on a stretcher late in proceedings with a neck issue.
Burgess was sent to hospital for precautionary scans, but Bennett said he was confident the injury is a minor one.
Bennett provides an update on Burgess
