South Sydney’s State of Origin contingent will be available for the Rabbitohs’ remaining games in the annual representative period – but coach Wayne Bennett has revealed he’ll almost certainly rest some or all of his interstate stars.
The ladder-leading Rabbitohs registered their second loss of the NRL season on Friday night, going down to a Parramatta side with no current Origin players 26-14 at Bankwest Stadium.
Already missing several frontline stars due to injury, the Bunnies were also missing NSW trio Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Cameron Murray, as well as Queensland’s Dane Gagai.
“This is the last time we have to play without our Origin players but the issue now is who we rest, when we rest them and how often we back them up, so this (disruption) is going to go on for the next six weeks now,” Bennett said post-match.
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Asked to confirm he plans to rest some or all of his Origin players in the coming weeks, Bennett replied: "I think I'll have to. It just depends, but I think I'll have to.
“What, Damien (Cook is) going to have to play 80 minutes of Origin and then come back two days later and play 80 minutes for us?
“That’s not going to be feasible to think he can keep doing that for the next six weeks.
“The jury’s out on it at the moment. I just need to see how they play, what the games are like, what kind of mental and physical state they’re in when they come back.”
Nobody knows the effects of Origin better than Bennett, having lost multiple players every season at the Broncos and surrendering a whopping nine players at St George Illawarra in 2011.
Pressed on whether his experience makes it easier for him to navigate the treacherous rep period, he said: “I don’t think it does get any easier because the games are getting tougher and the competition between the two states is pretty close.
“It hasn’t been the first time I’ve coached teams who were top of the competition going into Origin and by the time we come back out we were in fourth or fifth position.”
Bennett added anything over the Bunnies’ current contingent of four players places a major strain on a club.
“My experience is that anything over four, four and plus, after that you’re really stretched with your depth and our ability to play the type of football you want,” he said.
“So we’re on the borderline.”
Bennett’s men play Newcastle, Penrith before all teams enjoy the bye ahead of Origin II.
They then meet the Wests Tigers before another bye in Round 16 the weekend before Game 3.
