To repeat the feat, the Rabbitohs will need to retain their motivation for another seven months. Test centre Dylan Walker revealed how the players were pushing each other to continue working hard at training and in their preparation for games. "The success that we had last year, it comes down from Madge and the boys .... they didn't want to stop winning," Walker told reporters in Brisbane. "We all got into a room together and said, 'Let's try and win everything', and that's what we've been trying to do. It's always nice to get the win in round one but what we learnt from last year was we come out firing in round one and then lost three in a row, so we've got to knuckle down and rip in at training."

New structure

The addition of Glenn Stewart on the right edge has added another dimension to Souths attack and the Rabbitohs now appear to have strike across the field, with former captain John Sutton also playing the role of a ball-playing back-rower on the left edge. However, Souths still have size and strength through the middle. According to statistics from the match, props Thomas Burgess (149 metres), George Burgess (129m), Dave Tyrrell (127m) and Chris Grevsmuhl (114m) all ran with the ball for more than 100 metres, while hooker Issac Luke ran 121 metres. The influence Luke had on the game was also demonstrated by the fact he received the ball twice as much as rival dummy half Andrew McCulloch (123 to 64), although the Broncos hooker was interchanged for 17 minutes of the match. Souths captain Greg Inglis, who scored a try and had a hand in another, ran the most metres (155m) of any player in the match, while winger Alex Johnson (110m) also ran more than 100 metres with the ball.

Confidence

By his own admission, helping Souths to a premiership has boosted Reynolds' confidence. This has been evident by his decision to attempt a long-range field goal in the last minute against St Helens, which handed the Rabbitohs a record WCC win, and opt to kick for goal from 52 metres against the Broncos. "You could see it in the Nines, he was like Phil Blake in the Sevens back in 1987," said Souths great Craig Coleman, who coached Reynolds before he came into first grade three years ago. "Both Adam and Luke Keary are playing with a lot of confidence, as is the team as a whole. They have taken their game to another level but that is through hard work. I know how hard they work and how hard the coaching staff work with them. They are just a very, very good football team. From some of their set plays they have got five or six players coming at you, and they have got the skills of both back-rowers, who use the ball, and both halves. They all know their job and they all do it well. There is just so much confidence when teams are attacking their line because they have got the right spacings and the right line speed. They are very professional."