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14 Dec 2001 And then there were 15. In rugby league, 2001 was the year of the comeback and none was more spectacular than South Sydney's return to the competition it started back in 1908. Friday July 6 was the day, the Rabbitohs said, when the battler beat the corporate giant. Australia's oldest and most successful rugby league club won its Federal Court appeal against its two-year expulsion from the National Rugby League, ruining News Limited's plan for a 14-team competition and forcing the code to return to 15 sides in 2002. http://www.nrl.com.au/s2001/news/static/article_2619.asp 12 Dec 2001 If Anthony Mundine had any desires to make a return to Rugby League next season, the chance of playing for South Sydney has been shut. South Sydney Chief Executive Paul Dunn in a Media Release said: "Due to the completely unsubstantiated reports of Anthony's arrival at Souths, I feel it necessary to make our club's position quite clear. Souths will definitely not be signing Anthony Mundine. "As well as that, our supporters have made their feelings on the Mundine matter quite clear. They don't want him here." Dunn also pointed out that at no time did Souths ever have any discussion with Mundine. "One of his representatives did approach us a few months ago about the possibility of Anthony playing for Souths if he won his world boxing title, but that was a brief meeting which never went any further." Souths also closed the door on any possible return for Craig Field who was sacked last month by the Wests Tigers after a range of incidents in a year he'll long want to forget. http://www.rleague.com/newsarticle.php?articleID=4652 10 Dec 2001 South Sydney has put an end to recent speculation that Anthony Mundine might return to rugby league and play for the Rabbitohs. "Due to the completely unsubstantiated reports of Anthony's arrival at Souths, I feel it necessary to make our club's position quite clear. Souths will definitely not be signing Anthony Mundine,' says CEO, Paul Dunn. Dunn says that despite any other factors there simply would be no room left under the salary cap to sign a player like Mundine. "As well as that, our supporters have made their feelings on the Mundine matter quite clear. They don't want him here,' Dunn says. http://www.souths.com.au/ The South Sydney Rabbitohs have issued a statement conclusively denying that Anthony Mundine will play for the club next season. While citing salary cap pressures as one of the determinant factors in the decision, the Rabbitohs have also made the public denial to appease their fans and sponsors, who are understandably wary of Souths adding a combustible talent like Mundine. http://www.ozleague.com/news_article.asp?id=41914 8 Dec 2001 A National Rugby League draw with an opening home game against South Sydney and just one clash with rugby's ACT Brumbies has Canberra Raiders chief executive Kevin Neil confident the club can challenge attendance figures from its last decent crowd-pulling season, 1995. In that year the Raiders averaged 15,000 fans to home games. Neil hopes an average figure of 12,500 or better is achieved from next year's 12 home matches at Bruce Stadium. Neil said every chief executive had hoped to snare the round two home game against Souths, after the Rabbitohs kick-off their comeback in a round one clash against the Roosters. http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=sport&subclass=national&category=general%20sport&story_id=113963&y=2001&m=12 South Sydney will triumphantly celebrate their return to the National Rugby League by kicking off the 2002 season with a local derby against the Sydney Roosters. As the league's chief executives wrapped up their two-day conference yesterday with the release of next season's draw, NRL director of football Graham Annesley predicted a sell-out crowd for the March15 match. The clash, at Souths' choice of either the Sydney Football Stadium or the Sydney Cricket Ground, will set the tone for the rest of the 26-week regular season, with the NRL keen to attract attention to specific matches throughout the year. http://www.smh.com.au/news/0112/08/sport/sport17.html South Sydney Rabbitohs will kick off their National Rugby League campaign with a derby against Sydney City Roosters on 15 March. Australia's oldest club have returned to top-flight rugby after winning their appeal against expulsion from the NRL in 1999. The 2002 draw features 26 rounds, a return to Saturday afternoon football and an evening Grand Final at Stadium Australia on 6 October. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/rugby_league/newsid_1698000/1698156.stm Melbourne and South Sydney were the two big winners today following the announcement of the 2002 Telstra Premiership season draw. The fact South Sydney is back in the premiership and will feature in the season opener against 1908 rivals Sydney Roosters at either the SFS or the prestigious SCG is a mighty boost for the great game of Rugby League and the Rabbitohs. Souths have been in exile for two years and their large legion of passionate supporters will be counting down the minutes or possibly seconds until March 15, 2002 when Adam Muir leads out the NRL's most traditional club to a thunderous and emotional roar. http://www.rleague.com/newsarticle.php?articleID=4613 5 Dec 2001 The South Sydney Rabbitohs are unlikely to sign former St George-Illawarra five-eighth Anthony Mundine, despite constant reports to the contrary. While the Rabbitohs say they will talk to Mundine if the opportunity arises, an official statement released by the club yesterday suggests that the boxer won’t be playing in the red and green next year. http://www.ozleague.com/news_article.asp?id=41796 SCORES of irate South Sydney supporters are threatening to tear up their memberships if the club signs Anthony Mundine. Rabbitohs chief executive Paul Dunn said last night he had received more than 80 phone calls, 20 e-mails and numerous faxes from fans protesting the possible signing of the vanquished boxer. Mundine will consider a return to rugby league after being knocked unconscious by German Sven Ottke in an IBF super-middleweight title fight last Sunday morning. Club officials have not held formal discussions with Mundine but could not rule out the possibility he may play for the Rabbitohs next season. With a long history of distasteful self-promotion and offensive remarks, The Man ranks as Australia's most unpopular sportsman. http://www.foxsports.com.au/common/story_page/0,5000,3377031%255E5927%255E%255Enbv,00.html In keeping with their pledge to listen to the fans, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have launched an excellent initiative by giving the people a chance to vote on their favourite alternate strip design for season 2002 and beyond. Due to the NRL's insistence that all teams must have an alternate strip, the Rabbitohs have been left with endless possibilities for their first away jumper. It's up to you to decide what they'll run out onto the field in. Voting is via email and the designs - there are eleven in total, are available at the Rabbitohs' official website: http://www.rleague.com/newsarticle.php?articleID=4575 Anthony Mundine, Australia's most controversial athlete, could be about to abandon his quest for boxing glory and return to his roots in rugby league. The fighter's dreams of winning a world title in only his 11th professional bout were ended by the experienced German Sven Ottke in Dortmund at the weekend. One club which has expressed an interest in signing Mundine is South Sydney. Known to their legion of loyal fans as the Rabbitohs, Souths are back in the NRL three years after being forced out when the number of clubs was reduced. "We'd be interested in talking to him," Souths chief executive Paul Dunn said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/boxing/newsid_1689000/1689048.stm 3 Dec 2001 South Sydney is keen to pick Anthony Mundine up off the canvas if the former rugby league star decides to turn his back on boxing. Mundine saw his world title dream disappear, for the time being at least, with one punch on Sunday when he was knocked out by German Sven Ottke in the 10th round of their IBF super middleweight bout in Dortmund, Germany. The former NSW State of Origin player had previously rejected suggestions he would switch back to rugby league if he failed to win his bout with Ottke. However, Souths are keen to talk with Mundine if the devastating nature of the loss - which saw him knocked unconscious and taken to hospital for precautionary scans - sways the 26-year-old to end his 11-fight career. "We'd be interested in talking to him," Souths chief executive Paul Dunn said. "But we'd have to determine how committed he was. "We had a talk to him a couple of months ago but that was it. It was all based around him winning the world championship." http://onesport.nzoom.com/sport_detail/0,1278,69551-2-19,00.html South Sydney is preparing to make Anthony Mundine an offer for 2002, after the former rugby league star was knocked out by Sven Ottke in his IBF title fight overnight. In the lead up to the fight Mundine dismissed any talk he would retire from boxing and return to rugby league, but the Rabbitohs are keen to find out whether he might have a change of heart. We'd be interested in talking to him, Souths chief executive Paul Dunn said. But we'd have to determine how committed he was. We had a talk to him a couple of months ago but that was it. It was all based around him winning the world championship. While Mundine was reportedly paid 600,000 a year by St George-Illawarra before turning his back on the Dragons, Dunn says it’s unlikely he will command such a high salary should he come back. He would bring fans through the gate but at the end of the day you have a lot of blokes who trained the whole year, Dunn said. We don't want to turn it into a circus. We're in the entertainment industry but we're not entertainers. http://www.austarnet.com.au/feeds/sport_report.asp?display=4&story_id=20700&category=news ANTHONY Mundine is planning a return to rugby league in the red and green stripes of South Sydney. But The Man's grand plan to return to rugby league and box at the same time came crumbling down around him yesterday when Sven Ottke knocked him cold in the 10th round in Dortmund. Mundine had started the process for a return to rugby league with the Rabbitohs even before he knocked out veteran fighter Guy Waters in October. But he will have to start the negotiating process with Souths all over again when he returns home. "We had talks with him before he fought Guy Waters and it was agreed if he won he might play," Souths chief executive Paul Dunn said yesterday. http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,3362261%255E2771,00.html 1 Dec 2001 Former Parramatta utility Dennis Moran will remain with London next season after indicating he was keen to play for Souths. Moran's future was up in the air with the utility under contract at London but reports from all circles that he was signed by the Rabbitohs. It was also confirmed on Souths official website that Moran would be with the NRL's most traditional club next season. But Moran still has two years to go on his London deal and the Broncos won't be relenting on one of their star players. Moran enjoyed a bumper season for London in 2001, which was a carry-on of his outstanding Finals form for Parramatta in 2000. Moran is one of many overseas imports at London with the other prominent players being Jason Hetherington (who is also captain), Jim Dymock, Richie Barnett and Tony Martin. http://nrl.rleague.com/news/index.php?articleID=4543 |
