2006 South Sydney Rabbitohs season

The 2005 South Sydney Rabbitohs season was the 97th in the club's history. Coached by Shaun McRae and captained by Peter Cusack, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2006 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in last place, and collecting their eighth (and to date most recent) wooden spoon.

2006 South Sydney Rabbitohs season
NRL RankFirst Grade
Team information
CEOAustralia
CoachAustralia Shaun McRae
Captain
  • Australia
StadiumTelstra Stadium
Top scorers
TriesAustralia
GoalsAustralia
PointsAustralia
< 2005 2007 >

Souths acquired many sound players for 2006 including Joe Galuvao, Stuart Webb, Jaiman Lowe and Ben Rogers. They also re-signed key five-eighth/lock John Sutton for several years.

Despite coming close, Souths were yet to score a win after round ten but had shown significant progress. One area of weakness nominated by fans included the half back position. An injury to regular half-back Ben Walker took a heavy toll on the team's performance. Players who have made a big impact in a losing side included David Fa'alogo (a New Zealand International) and Nathan Merritt. Merritt finished the season as the NRL's leading try scorer with 22 tries.

David Peachey came to the club after being sacked by his English club Widnes. On 11 June 2006, in his second match for the Rabbitohs, Peachey steered the bottom of the table Souths to their first win of the 2006 season with a commanding 34-14 win over the second placed Brisbane Broncos. This was Souths first win over the Broncos since 1989.

On 25 June Souths suffered their worst defeat ever, going down 66-0 to the New Zealand Warriors at Telstra Stadium. In a rare move, this catastrophic result moved the club to make a full and unreserved apology to their fans through the nation's press, in direct letters to members and through the electronic media. Souths finished the season in last place.

On 30 August 2006 Jason Taylor was appointed head coach in place of Shaun McRae for seasons 2007 and 2008.

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne Storm 2420042605404+201441
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2416082608468+14036
3 Brisbane Broncos (P) 24140102497392+10532
4 Newcastle Knights 24140102608538+7032
5 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24140102534493+4132
6 St George Illawarra Dragons 24140102519481+3832
7 Canberra Raiders 24130112525573-4830
8 Parramatta Eels 24120122506483+2328
9 North Queensland Cowboys 24110132450463-1326
10 New Zealand Warriors 24120122552463+89242
11 Wests Tigers 24100142490565-7524
12 Penrith Panthers 24100142510587-7724
13 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2490152515544-2922
14 Sydney Roosters 2480162528650-12220
15 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2430212429772-34310

1 The Melbourne Storm were later stripped of this minor premiership due to gross salary cap breaches.
2 The New Zealand Warriors were deducted 4 competition points due to gross salary cap breaches.

Player statistics

PlayerAppearancesTriesGoalsField GoalsTotal Points

Representative Honours

PlayerAll StarsANZAC TestPacific TestCity / CountryState of Origin 1State of Origin 2State of Origin 3Four Nations

References

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