Wayne Bennetts Dr Phil adamant Rabbitohs hoodoo can be broken

One of Wayne Bennett’s most trusted lieutenants, leading sports psychologist Phil Jauncey, insists South Sydney’s preliminary final hoodoo won’t be a factor despite falling at the same hurdle three years in a row.

Jauncey, who has shadowed Bennett throughout his career and worked with a number of elite teams such as the Brisbane Lions, Australian and Queensland cricket sides as well as Olympic swimmers, said the Rabbitohs would have wiped last year’s painful exit before even starting this season.

South Sydney have twice fallen in the grand final qualifier under Bennett - to Canberra in 2019 and Penrith in 2020 - while they were bundled out in the final four by arch rivals the Roosters in 2018.

But the Rabbitohs have a golden chance to make their first grand final since 2014 when they’re expected to start favourites against a Tom Trbojevic-inspired Manly on Friday night.

Asked if the Rabbitohs would carry any mental scarring, Jauncey said: “No. All players deal with disappointment or regret, and it’s really when they start the next season if you have some residue you deal with it.

“I’ve really found most professional players by the time the next season starts, they’ve dealt with it. The idea you need to sit down a week or two with somebody after a final you’ve lost, it doesn’t seem to work. People don’t want to, anyway.

Dane Gagai can’t hide his agony after the Rabbitohs’ defeat to Penrith in the 2020 preliminary final.Credit:Getty

“If it’s during the season it might happen, but end-of-year stuff? Let it go. People process it in their own way. The only time it’s really hard is if you’re retiring, and you don’t get another chance.

“What’s really important in so-called big matches is they worry about the outcome instead of worrying about the process. The real key is if someone asks, ‘You’ve lost three preliminary finals, what happens if you lose a fourth?’ ... but the teams that played in those games are different.”

The Rabbitohs are likely to field at least five different players from the team which fell against the Panthers in the 2020 grand final qualifier, headed by high-profile recruits Jai Arrow and Benji Marshall, who could be playing his last game in the NRL.

While Bennett is hoping for a perfect Redfern swansong, Adam Reynolds will also farewell the only club he has known before his switch to the Broncos.

‘I’ve found most professional players by the time the next season starts, they’ve dealt with it.’

Phil Jauncey

Jauncey has continued to occasionally work with South Sydney players this year and reinforced his message of not worrying about the result, rather how the Rabbitohs will execute at their best.

“Grant Hackett broke a world record and came second to a guy named [Ian] Thorpe,” Jauncey said. “He achieved his goal, which was to swim as fast as he could and give himself the best chance of getting there, but he didn’t achieve his aim.

“I think when people say, ‘listen, we’ve lost three preliminary finals in a row we need to win it’ ... that’s when you miss it. The real key here is to ask, ‘OK, what do we do to play our best?’

“I thought last year in the preliminary final they played pretty well. If you execute and you lose, that’s disappointing.

“I think [Wayne] is adapting well. He’s always adapted wherever he goes, and you can see the same thing [at South Sydney]. Rather than saying he’s coaching better than ever, he just keeps coaching the way he coaches. He’s an elite coach and elite coaches coach at that level all the time.”

Share this post