# 2007 South Sydney Rabbitohs season

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

2007 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32 |
| 4 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24 |
| 10 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22 |
| 12 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22 |
| 13 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20 |
| 16 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18 |

## Players
### 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 |