The South Sydney Rabbitohs are pleased to announce their team to take on the St George Illawarra Dragons in the 2011 Charity Shield match this Sunday 13 February at 7pm at ANZ Stadium. Rabbitohs Head Coach John Lang has named his strongest available line up for the game in what is shaping as a huge weekend of pre-season Rugby League. The Rabbitohs will be missing a number of players through injury, opening up opportunities for the Club’s young players to impress on the big stage before the season begins on 11 March. Players not available for the Charity Shield through injury include Sam Burgess (shoulder), Greg Inglis (shoulder/hip), Issac Luke (shoulder), Michael Crocker (knee), Luke Stuart (shoulder), Jason Clark (hamstring) and Blake Judd (hamstring). All players are expected to be fit for round against the Roosters on Friday 11 March. The Rabbitohs are also without Nathan Merritt and David Taylor who are on duty with the Indigenous All Stars and NRL All Stars teams respectively. This will be the first hit out for season 2011 for 12 players in the 25-man squad, with the other 13 players having played in last Saturday’s victory over the Newtown Jets at the Return to Redfern 2011 match. The 28th Charity Shield will be the culmination of a big weekend of football with the NRL All Stars game being played the night before on the Gold Coast. The Rabbitohs will be looking to take home the Charity Shield for the fourth consecutive year with a win in the feature pre-season club match on the NRL calendar. The 28th Charity Shield will recognise the third anniversary of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s speech apologising to the stolen generations. In conjunction with the NRL All Stars match, the Rabbitohs, Dragons and the NRL will highlight the importance of indigenous people to the game of Rugby League and to the nation. Over 500 members, family and friends of the stolen generations will be invited to the game to help Rugby League celebrate the third anniversary of this key event in Australian history. This year, Rabbitohs’ proceeds from the Charity Shield will support Souths Cares and their community programs such as the Teachers’ Aide program amongst schools in the South Sydney region and the Workplace Mentoring program conducted in Sydney and the Coffs Harbour region. The NRL fixture will kick off at 7pm with the Toyota Cup game scheduled for a 4:45pm kick off. Gates open at 4:40pm.
1. Wesser, Rhys 2. Talanoa, Fetuli 3. Vaivai, Junior 4. Farrell, Dylan 5. McQueen, Chris 6. Sutton, John 7. Sandow, Chris 8. Geddes, Scott 9. Falloon, Beau 10. Asotasi, Roy (c) 11. Pettybourne, Eddy 12. McPherson, Shannon 13. Lowe, Ben 14. Webster, Malcolm 15. Morgan, Kane 16. Mansour, Josh 17. Mundine, Matt 18. Reynolds, Adam 19. Tyrrell, Dave 20. Ha'angana, Adrian 21. Apps, Deon 22. Ross, Ben 23. Peats, Nathan 24. Burgess, George Coach – John Lang
The Rabbitohs Toyota Cup team is -
1. Roberts, James 2. Sisifa, David 3. Jaeger, Reece 4. Vale, Kieran 5. Takapu, Arthur 6. French, Kurt 7. Place, Matt 8. Hull, Alex 9. Valentino, Johnathan 10. Jarrett, Brett 18. Cooper, James 12. Lee Hang, Jack 13. England, Scott 11. Loloesio, Paul 14. Koroisau, Apisai 15. Tuiavii, Jordon 16. Haddrick, Luke 17. Gibbs, Joe 19. Artemi, Andrew 20. Matthews, Blake 21. Bryant, Hamish 22. Mecham, Liam 23. Badran, Alaa Coach - Scott Murray
The NSW Cup team is playing a trial against the Lake Macquarie Scorpians at Dora Creek oval on Sat Feb 12 6pm.
14. Itula, Andre 2. Pettyborne, Kennedy 3. Nichols, Greg 4. Leslie, Bennett 5. Johnston, Curtis 18. Hawkins, Jack 6. Florimo, Jay 8. Kaifoto, John 7. McKinnon, Brendan 24. Shearer, Jake 21. So'oalo, Joseph 12. Apps, Ryan 13. Molan, Brock 5. Schuster, Ray 7. Bragg, Ben 8. Areaiiti, Neccrom 11. Kourouche, Ali 12. Field, Martin 15. Haddrick, Luke 16. Matapuku, Joey 16. Zreika, Nashaat 17. Mecham, Liam 19. Webster, Dean 19. Ryan, Ben 20. Retzlaff, Herman 22. Umu, Komisi 23. Latham, Joel Coach - Wayne Lambkin