The Rabbitohs and Panthers square off for the second time this season with Jason Demetriou's men out to avenge a 16-10 loss at BlueBet Stadium in Round 2.
A key area the Rabbitohs will need to improve if they are to take down the premiers is their completion rate, which was down at 68 per cent (24 of 35 sets) that night, making their task extremely tough.
The fact they stayed in the fight and had a chance to draw level in the dying minutes is cause for optimism heading into a game on their own turf and coming off two big wins over the Bulldogs and Dolphins.
The Panthers played their 'get out of jail' card in a golden point thriller against Newcastle and have climbed to second on the ladder despite being short of their lethal best in a number of matches this season.
In 11 games at Accor Stadium it's the Rabbitohs with a 7-4 advantage but the most recent meeting saw the Panthers charge home in the second half of the 2022 preliminary final to leave Souths one game shy of a grand final for the fourth time in five years.
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Team News
Rabbitohs: Hame Sele will start and Thomas Burgess comes from the bench in a game day switch. Taane Milne replaced Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson (ankle) on the wing on Wednesday. The loss of Keaon Koloamatangi to a leg injury sees Michael Chee Kam return to the starting side. Josiah Karapani is 18th man.
Panthers: The Panthers are 1-17 with no late changes. Scott Sorensen moves back into the starting side to replace Liam Martin, who continues to battle hamstring issues. Lindsay Smith has been called onto the bench. Jack Cogger is 18th man.
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Stat Attack
- The Rabbitohs have not defeated the Panthers at Accor Stadium since 2017.
- The Panthers have won 10 of their past 11 games against the Rabbitohs.
- Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell requires nine points to reach 1,000 career NRL points.
- Panthers centre Stephen Crichton has scored seven tries in his past eight games against the Rabbitohs.
- The Rabbitohs will play their 200th game at Accor Stadium.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the .