The 2007 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 98th in the club's history. They competed in National Rugby League season 2007 under the new ownership of Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes à Court and with a new coach in Jason Taylor. The club finished the regular season 7th (out of 16) and were knocked out of the play-offs by eventual grand-finalists Manly-Warringah.

Season summary The Rabbitohs' 2007 season was detailed in the documentary South Side Story.

After three rounds South Sydney had three wins, matching their total win tally of the previous season. The Bulldogs brought them back to earth in round 4. The Rabbitohs' co-captain, Kiwi international forward David Kidwell, then fell in a freak accident at a family barbecue and injured his knee. He would require knee re-construction surgery and was not expected to return for the rest of the season.

Souths signed Craig Wing mid-season. The Souths junior would play out the rest of 2007 with the Sydney Roosters before returning to the Rabbitohs for 2008.

For the first time in 18 years the South Sydney Rabbitohs made it to the finals series, finishing in 7th position.

Roy Asotasi won the George Piggins Medal as the club's player of the year.

Results

Round Opponent Result Rabbitohs Opponent Date Venue Crowd 1 Sydney Roosters Win 18 6 Mar 19 Sydney Football Stadium 24,127 2 Parramatta Eels Win 31 6 Mar 25 Telstra Stadium 15,165 3 Cronulla Sharks Win 26 16 Mar 31 Toyota Park 17,866 4 Canterbury Bulldogs Loss 10 34 Apr 6 Telstra Stadium 34,315 5 Newcastle Knights Loss 22 23 Apr 15 Bluetongue Stadium 18,321 6 North Queensland Cowboys Win 10 6 Apr 23 Dairy Farmers Stadium 17,678 7 New Zealand Warriors Loss 16 18 Apr 29 Telstra Stadium 13,044 8 Brisbane Broncos Loss 4 8 May 4 Suncorp Stadium 27,387 9 Canberra Raiders Loss 10 16 May 12 Telstra Stadium 11,088 10 BYE 11 Gold Coast Titans Loss 18 25 May 26 Metricon Stadium 17,266 12 Melbourne Storm Loss 10 26 Jun 2 Olympic Park 11,211 13 Penrith Panthers Win 14 4 Jun 8 Telstra Stadium 5,053 14 Manly Sea Eagles Loss 2 14 Jun 15 Brookvale Oval 7,341 15 Cronulla Sharks Win 16 12 Jun 24 Telstra Stadium 9,568 16 Newcastle Knights Win 28 25 Jun 29 EnergyAustralia Stadium 16,320 17 Melbourne Storm Loss 8 12 Jul 7 Bluetongue Stadium 14,288 18 Parramatta Eels Loss 12 18 Jul 15 Parramatta Stadium 15,202 19 North Queensland Cowboys Win 20 14 Jul 22 Telstra Stadium 10,022 20 Gold Coast Titans Win 20 14 Jul 28 Telstra Stadium 13,351 21 Penrith Panthers Loss 16 32 Aug 4 CUA Stadium 10,845 22 St George Illawarra Dragons Win 24 14 Aug 11 WIN Stadium 18,382 23 Manly Sea Eagles Win 24 18 Aug 20 Telstra Stadium 12,087 24 Wests Tigers Win 37 12 Aug 26 Leichhardt Oval 20,232 25 Sydney Roosters Loss 12 26 Sep 1 Telstra Stadium 32,125 Qualifying Final Manly Sea Eagles Loss 6 30 Sep 8 Brookvale Oval 19,785

Ladder

Players + After Round 25, 2007 Player Appearances Tries Goals F Goals PointsJoe Williams14140/51286Nathan Merritt221017/2674Nigel Vagana24728Fetuli Talanoa11624Yileen Gordon7520Dean Widders24520Roy Asotasi24416Shannon Hegarty18416Paul Mellor18416Jeremy Smith21416David Fa'alogo22312David Peachey14312Ben Rogers14312John Sutton15312Issac Luke1322/312Eddie Paea320/28Shane Rigon1928Reece Simmonds712/28Daniel Irvine1114David Kidwell414Beau Champion1Peter Cusack24Joe Galuvao4Scott Geddes11Michael Greenfield4Jaiman Lowe10Manase Manuokafoa13Shannan McPherson3Eddy Pettybourne1Luke Stuart23Stuart Webb9

Player movements Gains 2008 Signings/Transfers Player Previous club Years signed Until the end of Craig Wing Sydney Roosters 4 2011 Nathanael Barnes Tweed Heads Seagulls John Tamanika Brisbane Easts Tigers Jamie Simpson Toowoomba Clydesdales Luke Capewell Brisbane Easts Tigers George Ndaira Sydney Roosters Chris Sandow Gold Coast Titans

Losses Losses Player Future Club/Playing Status David Peachey Retired Daniel Irvine Retired Paul Mellor Retired Shane Rigon Retired Reece Simmonds Retired Joe Williams Penrith Panthers Joe Galuvao Parramatta Eels Stuart Webb St. George Illawarra Dragons Joe Falemaka St. George Illawarra Dragons Jardine Bobongie St. George Illawarra Dragons Peter Cusack Hull

Re-Signings Re-Signings Player Years signed Until the end of Jaiman Lowe 2 2009 Luke Stuart 1 2008 David Fa'alogo 4 2011 Fetuli Talanoa 3 2010 Yileen Gordon 2 2009 Eddie Paea 1 2008 Issac Luke 2 2009 Michael Greenfield 2 2009 John Sutton 3 2011 Nathan Merritt 3 2011

Kit and Sponsors National Australia Bank The National Australia Bank was the Rabbitohs major home sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.

DeLonghi DeLonghi was the major away sponsor for the Rabbitohs in the 2007 Telstra Premiership.

V8 Supercars Australia V8 Supercars was the Rabbitohs major sleeve sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.

Virgin Blue Virgin Blue was the Rabbitohs major training sponsor for the 2007 Telstra Premiership.

Player statistics Player Appearances Tries Goals Field Goals Total Points – – – – – –

Representative Honours Player All Stars ANZAC Test Pacific Test City / Country State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Four Nations

References