If the NRL and News Ltd are successful and the Rabbitohs are banished to the backblocks forever, they will be the most hated sporting and media organisation in Australia. Rugby league will suffer immensely. All those former supporters sitting on the fence deciding whether to come back to this game will jump down the other side and we will never see them again. The NRL has a real dilemma. If it does, even the NRL realises the mountain of evidence that Souths will introduce to proceedings has the potential to cause immense damage to the NRL and supposedly key individuals in the game.
Souths are on a survival mission here.
Nothing will be spared to prove injustice has been done, and the South Sydney camp is very confident of success. News Ltd will not take kindly to very senior executives being called to the witness box. The optimum outcome as far as the NRL is concerned is for the matter to be resolved without court action. It would be extremely grateful if someone could broker a last-minute merger between Souths and Easts. The Roosters are equally determined to stand alone after battling the past five years to achieve their own stand-alone status.