At the end of June 2014 South Sydney were perched on 20 points. Their form had been mixed. A handful of impressive wins, some gritty yet unspectacular displays, a smattering of luck-ridden wins and some not so impressive losses. Sounding familiar?
For the first few weeks of the competition it looked like Souths had started the way they had finished in 2014 and were perhaps even a little better than they were in 2014. With new recruit Glenn Stewart’s ball playing skills giving a new dimension on the right edge, and Adam Reynolds’ kicking and running game reaching a new level, a lot of the early talk was about the very elusive holy grail of back-to-back premierships.
DARLINGTON: If a tree falls in Abercrombie Street – was it because of a truck accident? Or perhaps a “force majeure” due to the recent storms, or was it, as many Darlington residents and shop owners believe, the result of root damage and a very inept and poorly managed street upgrade project.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have capped off an incredible journey to become the 2014 NRL premiers and indisputably reclaim their title as “the pride of the league”.
It’s strange to feel empty and dissatisfied when your team has just won a game. It’s even weirder when your team achieves the rare feat of keeping the opposition scoreless, for the first time in decades. But that is exactly the feeling many Souths fans had after the Monday night victory over Cronulla [May 26].
It’s grand final qualifier Friday night and Souths’ season has ended with a big thud against the old enemy Manly. It’s a disappointing finish to a season that promised so much. For the many faithful at ANZ Stadium it’s a painful end, and after politely applauding a dejected team they make their way up the aisles towards the exits.
“Who’d have thought thirty year ago we’d all be sitting here drinking Chateau de Chasselas …!” Watching Souths ease away from the Titans on Saturday [July 27] was a little bit like a scene from the classic Monty Python sketch.
So this must be how it feels. This must be how Storm supporters feel. This must be how it feels most of the time when you are a Broncos supporter, or a Bulldogs supporter, or, God forbid, a Manly supporter. This might have been how Raiders supporters of their early 90s “Green Machine” team or supporters of the great Eels team of the 80s felt.
REDFERN: Jarjum College, a new independent Catholic school for Indigenous children, was officially opened on April 12 before a crowd of over 500 people. On the site of the former St Vincent’s Presbytery in Redfern Street an old building has been transformed into a small school with a current intake of 20 students.
In last year’s Head On Photo Festival one of the most talked-about exhibitions was a collective work of four female photographers called See Jane Run at Depot 2 Gallery in Danks Street, Waterloo. This popular exhibition focussed on the representation of women and girls in art and in the media.
Wake me up, I’m dreaming! The Rabbitohs are starting the season as one of the premiership favourites. And unlike previous years this talk is not just coming from deluded supporters on an annual season preview drinks session. There is nothing romantic or wishful in this talk. It’s being made by a multitude of sane and objective observers. And it’s hard to disagree that the Rabbitohs have got a big chance this year.
The onset of the 50th birthday is often a time people fear. For women, it marks a significant turning point in their life. As award-winning photographer Jennifer Blau approached “the big 5-0” she found herself becoming more and more absorbed in finding out about what women thought and felt about the big birthday and years following.
It’s going to be an exciting Sydney Festival and plenty of it can be seen locally. Carriageworks and the Seymour Centre will once again be busy venues and for the first time the Festival will be taking itself to the streets and parks of Erskineville.
With the clock ticking closer to start time our search for our Sydney Independent Theatre Company’s venue became more frantic. But this inauspicious start was quickly forgotten.
Around August Redfern fleetingly became a hub of activity with film sets cropping up across the suburb. Buildings in Little Eveleigh Street were transformed into police stations and The Block and other streets throughout the suburb filled with lights, cameras, actors and film crews.
Back in February, before the season started, with great trepidation the SSH predicted Souths to finish sixth in 2012. We also commented that much of Souths’ fortune would hinge on the young half Adam Reynolds and the form of John Sutton at five-eighth.
July can be a cold and miserable month. The passing of solstice and the beginning of winter’s chilliest period has so often marked the unofficial end of Souths.
