Sam missed many weeks during the season, firstly with shoulder surgery and then a subsequent infection. On his return, Bennett spoke pre-match about Sam keeping it all together and just getting through the match. Don't do anything silly because he felt he owed the team for being out. Then, bang, he whacks Cronulla's Matt Moylan and miraculously avoids suspension after successfully arguing for a downgrade at the judiciary. Against the Roosters on Thursday night, Sam pulled Billy Smith's hair. It was a rash act following a borderline high shot aimed at slowing down the play-the-ball. Pulling someone's hair shouldn't earn you a week out – it's a fine at best – but his poor record means it's a one-match ban. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Charged with grade one contrary conduct, he has pleaded guilty. He couldn't fight it because he has nowhere to go. He pulled his hair.

Out of the same match, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves faces a match out for his hit on Liam Knight. He'll be able to formulate an argument that it was nothing more than an accident as Knight was falling and there was nowhere else for Hargreaves' arm to go. It'll be a 50-50 chance he could get off. Burgess can't do that, as pulling hair is pulling hair. Loading Big Sam's problem is he is wired differently. He believes rugby league is a gladiatorial sport and there are going to be bumps and bruises. It's what makes him great and compelling to watch. To his credit, he never complains about being whacked. In his mind, if you play like he does every now and then one is going to land on your chin. In return, he expects the same from opponents: accept the fact there will be a stray arm here and there when two teams go hard at it.

After round one this year, Latrell Mitchell hit Burgess with a high shot and was charged and fined. The first person to come to Mitchell's defence in the sheds afterwards was Burgess. A journalist asked Burgess if he thought Mitchell was "a grub" for what he did. "He's not a grub – Latrell's not a grub," Burgess said. "You've got two teams going hard at it. Latrell's going hard at it. I like how he plays. It's just what happens. Latrell's not a grub. He just goes hard." Burgess' attitude is fair enough and to be admired. But what's not fair on his team and their extremely valid premiership prospects is getting himself in hot water for silly acts like grabbing an opponent's hair. It's unnecessary. While Waerea-Hargreaves may avoid suspension, Burgess has little argument to aid his cause. Credit:AAP Souths need Burgess on the field if they are to take down the Roosters and Melbourne (throw the Raiders in, too) and win the title. They can do it. They have the team and the coach to do it. It's there for them.

But they can't do it without Sam. He has to find a way to listen to Bennett. To play hard but stay inside the boundaries the game has set. Finals football is not the same with Sam Burgess sitting on the sidelines. Rugby league needs him on the field because he makes it a better game. No guarantees for second Brisbane team Being born and raised in Brisbane, I have a word of caution for those running around in circles thinking a second Brisbane team will be an automatic hit. It won't. It may eventually be a hit, but it will take a long time.

There are major geographical issues. People say it should be set up in Ipswich to the south-west or Redcliffe to the north. People in greater metropolitan Brisbane don't identify with Ipswich and Redcliffe because, well, they are Ipswich and Redcliffe. Loading The government will insist the team plays out of Suncorp and won't fund yet another stadium (remember it built Robina for the Titans and is building a new stadium in Townsville for the Cowboys). It's politically unpalatable. So that means a team based in Brisbane, kind of like a 'Broncos light'. Kind of like the disastrous South Queensland Crushers. The Broncos were born in the State of Origin era when Queenslanders were hungry to take on anything south of the border and beat them. It gave them an automatic edge. Their best versus the rest.