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Stadium stoush continues as Souths slam stalling government

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou has implored the NSW government to allow the Rabbitohs to move to the new Sydney Football Stadium next season as the club waits in limbo without a home ground locked in for 2023.

As revealed in The Daily Telegraph, Souths chief executive Blake Solly said the club had “bucket loads of uncertainty” because a potential move to Moore Park hasn’t been approved by the state government.

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Blake Solly is unimpressed with the stadium standoff. Picture: Lyndon MechielsenSource: News Corp Australia

The Rabbitohs have called the Olympic precinct home since 2006 but are keen to return to Allianz Stadium, which is on the same light rail line as their juniors club in Kingsford.

But the government has yet to approve the move, which means the Rabbitohs can’t sell memberships or corporate packages for 2023 because their fans don’t know which ground they’d be committing to.

“We’re a big club that deserves to be playing in big stadiums,” Demetriou said, joking that they’d gladly play at Redfern Oval if they had to.

“They’ve just built an $800m stadium in our backyard, so I think it makes common sense to me that we’re playing there.

“It’s a stadium that’s built in the heartland of South Sydney.

“It’s down the road from our junior leagues club, so there’s a real opportunity for us to spend some time there and venture into the ground from there and for our members to meet the players post-game.

“All that sort of stuff makes everything easier and that’s why we’re really excited and hopeful of getting in there.

“It’s in our area, so it’d be great to have us playing there and I’m sure our fans and our members and our supporters would love to have a venue closer to home. I know the players would be excited as well.”

The Rabbitohs will officially open the stadium in round 25 when they take on the Roosters in a game that could decide eighth spot on the ladder.

The lack of certainty around their future has had no impact on the playing group yet, but Demetriou says it could if things are left to fester.

The new stadium would be much more convenient for Rabbitohs fans. Picture: Sam RuttynSource: News Corp Australia

“We’ve got that much going on in terms of playing footy,” he said.

“It’s a distraction if we’re getting too caught up in it, but we have no control over it. I don’t as a coach, and I know the players don’t as players.

“But they’re excited about playing there in round 25 and there’s a genuine excitement to play there. I think sharing it with the Roosters and having 20 games a year would be outstanding, not just for clubs, but for the NRL as well.”

It’s a distraction the Bunnies could do without as they prepare for a brutal four-week stretch leading into the finals.

The Rabbitohs play western Sydney heavyweights Parramatta and Penrith and then finish the regular season with games against the second-placed Cowboys and the Roosters in a grudge game to open Allianz Stadium.

It’s a tough stretch but at least they go into Friday’s game at CommBank Stadium knowing they have the wood on Parramatta after five-straight wins over the Eels.

“The last time we played them we were coming off an ordinary performance so we were pretty motivated for that game,” the coach said.

“That’s our challenge tomorrow night – to bring that same motivation off the back of some good performances.

“We’re going in the right direction but we’re playing some bigger teams now that can score points. Parramatta is as good as anyone at scoring points and they are dangerous right across the park, so it’ll be a good test for our defence.”

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Harry McKay says Carlton Blues season should still be successful even if they miss finals

Coleman Medalist Harry McKay believes Carlton’s 2022 has been a successful campaign – even if it ultimately misses finals after being in the top eight since Round 1.

The Blues have been one of the stories of the AFL season, placing inside the top eight at the end of every round so far. After eight consecutive bottom-eight finishes, Michael Voss’ team now needs one more win to cement a finals berth for the first time since 2013.

But the Blues are now clinging to seventh spot on the ladder after a 33-point loss to Brisbane on Sunday – their fourth loss from their past six games.

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With two tough games against top-four sides Melbourne and Collingwood to finish their home and away season, the Blues are now in danger of missing finals, with St Kilda and, particularly, Richmond and the Western Bulldogs well placed to squeeze into the top eight .

The last team to be in finals places every round except the last was Carlton in 1977.

Asked on Fox Footy’s On The Couch if the Blues would still consider the 2022 season a success, even if they missed finals, McKay said: “Short answer yes.

“I think I judge success in terms of our environment that we’ve created. The last couple of years we’ve probably struggled in that space in terms of culture, environment, building a really solid gameplan.

“Whatever happens for the rest of the year, I guess that’s outcome-based. But for me as a player that’s been there seven or eight years, this 12 months have been a success. Whether that comes with finals or whatever it is, I think we’ve taken a really big step in the right direction.

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“’Vossy’ talked about the other day ‘hopefully it’s a long book and this is just Chapter 1’. We want to finish off the chapter really well, but it’s definitely still a success I reckon.”

While many Blues fans would struggle to comprehend missing the finals after so many victories in 2022, triple premiership Bomber Tim Watson said Carlton’s “trajectory is going in the right direction”.

‘What is that?’ Sloppy Blues torched | 01:52

“Success can be measured in a whole different lot of ways, but they are still improving and their graph is going in the right direction,” Watson told SEN Breakfast after hearing McKay’s comments.

“They built up a level of expectation, based on their performances earlier in the season, and I remember seeing them and thinking ‘yeah, they’re capable of actually winning the flag’.

“They’ve got some problems at the moment though – and partly to do with injury.”

McKay claimed last year’s Coleman Medal with a haul of 58 goals, but said he’d enjoyed this year more considering the team’s success to date.

“This year has been very enjoyable and a different place,” he said.

Carlton needs one more win to qualify for finals. Picture: Russell FreemanSource: Getty Images

“Although we did a lot right over the last couple of years, this year it’s just started to click. Some key changes to some key personnel have been really refreshing and really nice.

“The last few weeks have been challenging after a pretty solid first 16 to 18 rounds. It’s been a little bit disappointing we haven’t been able to play our best football, but we’re still in a really good and exciting position. Two big games at the MCG to finish the year and a chance to do something we haven’t been able to do in 10 or so years.

“Even post-game (Sunday afternoon), there was initial disappointment and frustration and we touched on a few things that didn’t go right. But before we walked out the door it was ‘what an amazing opportunity we’ve got’.

McKay said the Blues needed to improve their contested ball work, which had been “a little bit off” in the past fortnight, while they wanted to move the footy with more “dare”.

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