Under scrutiny: Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire. Credit:Getty Images The Footy Show piece was one of several attempts to change the narrative. Another was Russell Crowe casting his sparkly eyed man, Sam Burgess, as the prodigal son. Shane Richardson plays another saviour. "Richo" had spent the previous year earning a reported $700,000 to come up with the Platinum League, a concept that now resides in the same circular file as the war chest and "entertainment squared". His latest task is to ensure the Rabbitohs reach the heights scaled before his departure. It has been an inauspicious start. The Pride of the League is on a seven-game losing streak and will miss the finals for the first time in Maguire's four-year tenure. Wayne Bennett labelled their power game predictable, but few would have predicted how quickly a strength would become a weakness under a reduced interchange. The playing style and roster are in desperate need of an overhaul, but Richardson, in a video message to members, insists: "We're not rebuilding, we're in a build-again phase."

That process has escaped due scrutiny only because the shenanigans at Parramatta have dominated the news cycle. But now that every Eels board minute and third-party agreement have been scrutinised, the spotlight turns to a club that had much further to fall. The challenge with these things is to pinpoint the exact time and place that Souths went south. Was it in the thin air of Arizona, where Luke Burgess and John Sutton posed for mugshots in one of those incidents where the cover-up is always worse than the crime? Arrested in Arizona: John Sutton and Luke Burgess. Credit:Coconino County Sheriff's Department Was it in a granny flat at Roseberry, where prescription overdoses by Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray almost proved fatal?

Or did the decline begin at Nana Glen, where Crowe provided performance appraisals as the team enjoyed a few too many at his in-house bar, The Blind Rabbit? Much has been made of that stoush between Crowe and Luke Keary, a confrontation that prompted Keary to leave the property and, ultimately, the club. But perhaps an answer can be found in another incident that occurred on Rusty's farm. There was a recovery session that weekend, but not everyone made it. When one of the high-profile players failed to front, his teammates expected him to be sanctioned. When he wasn't, it only reinforced the notion that there was one rule for some and another for others. Discipline is all good and well, but some of those who have since left the club felt it hadn't been meted out fairly. There was already angst about how big a chunk of the salary cap the "Burgi" were taking up. Sam's return came at the expense of Walker, Issac Luke, Chris McQueen, Glenn Stewart and Tim Grant. Twins George and Tom have also been unable to recapture the form of their premiership season, with the latter being shopped to rival clubs despite having another two years on his contract. When asked directly whether Sam was being paid too much, Richardson told the members: "Time will tell."

Salary cap heavy: The 'Burgi' take up a large part of the Rabbitohs' salary cap. Credit:Mark Kolbe Most of the players who have left the club in recent times have been too diplomatic to publicly state their reasons for doing so. Not Chris Grevsmuhl. After a blow up with the coach, which resulted in an early transfer to Penrith, the back-rower claimed Maguire was a "mind-game specialist". Grevsmuhl stated on the record what many have whispered off it – that Maguire was too intense, that some players had become worn down. A case in point is Adam Reynolds. After being challenged by Maguire about his game, the halfback wanted out. Had a release been granted last December, he would now be playing on the Gold Coast. Nana Glen shenanigans aside, there was nothing in the pre-season to suggest that this would be anything but another successful season. The players, free of World Club Series or representative commitments, were fresh. The physiological and performance data collected before Christmas had them tracking ahead of previous campaigns. Souths belted old rivals the Roosters in their season opener, but it soon became evident all was not well. The emergence of Cody Walker ensured Maguire had another genuine playmaker at his disposal, but the club still hasn't decided what its optimal spine looks like.

Greg Inglis has been down on form, making less than half the number of line breaks and line-break assists compared to the corresponding period during the club's premiership year. Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga accused Souths of using their marquee man as a "battering ram", but subsequent stints in the centres and five-eighth have raised more questions than provide answers. Is he going to Red Hill? Is he over the hill? The brothers Burgess are also well down on their best form. Perhaps the most poignant stat is this: such is the injury toll that, with six games still to play, the Rabbitohs have used 31 players. In their premiership year, the figure for the entire season was 27. Discipline has been the key to the club's resurgence, but there has been a noticeable erosion of it off the field. In the space of 48 hours, the club sacked two players after Kirisome Auva'a and Paul Carter added to their rap sheets and blew their last chances. A further cleanout is coming and it won't be confined to the playing ranks. Recruitment manager Grant Jones is gone, giving Richardson ultimate control of the playing roster, while assistant coaches Kurt Wrigley and Wayne Collins have been told to move on. They have just poached Parramatta's physical performance manager.

South Sydney's great rivals, the Roosters, are in much the same predicament. After finishing the last three regular seasons in top spot, the Chooks sit above only Newcastle on the competition ladder. Theirs has also been a season ruined by scandal and injury. Like Souths, the blokes they have recruited are less capable than the ones they released. For both foundation clubs, the time has come to build again. The Roosters, having poached a playmaker and chief executive from the Bunnies, have considered the role of their coach in all of this. Like Maguire, Robinson is a premiership-winning mentor whose side has been in the finals in every season bar this one. The contracts of both men were set to expire at the end of next year. Losing, as Roosters supremo Nick Politis, has put it, is bad for business. This was back-him-or-sack-him time. After careful deliberation, it was decided Robinson was part of the solution, rather than the problem. In the ultimate show of faith, the Roosters extended his contract until the end of 2019. At some time in the near future, the Rabbitohs will have to make their own call.