Rabbitohs booed by their own in Manly loss

Apr 28, 2017 - 12:09 PM The cardinal and myrtle faithful have turned on South Sydney after their 46-8 NRL flogging at the hands of Manly on Friday night.

In uncomfortable scenes, the Rabbitohs were booed by their fans as they left the field at halftime and face a long, hard road to win back the respect of their supporter base and get their season back on track.

Coach Michael Maguire was adamant he could turn the ship around as early as their clash with the Wests Tigers in a fortnight.

But Souths looked a long way off being competitive in what was their fifth loss in six weeks.

The stats said it all - Manly ran for 1599 metres compared to the Rabbitohs' 847.

Trent Barrett's side had 10 more sets of six and were tackled in the opposition 20-metre zone 20 more times than their opponents.

Souths had 30 missed tackles to the Sea Eagles' 13.

Asked how it felt to be heckled and booed by the club's own supporters after Manly raced out to a 30-2 lead at the halftime break, skipper Sam Burgess said: "I don't really think about that, I've got to get in and listen to Madge.

"We've got to move on and we've got to get on with it.

"We've got to look at where we can get better as a team.

"We let in far too many points in the first half."

After losing to Brisbane in a golden-point heartbreaker, in which two refereeing howlers went against them last week, Souths fell in a heap just seven days later.

"That's an excuse that one," Maguire said, when asked if their loss to the Broncos had left them deflated.

"I have players that are capable and they prepared well throughout the week.

"Defence is all about attitude, it's about how you build your attitude."

Maguire believes his side could turn their form around but was scathing of their defensive attitude.

"It's right throughout the sets, you kick the ball dead, you give them opportuntities," Maguire said.

"We didn't lock them up; it was our defence that definitely let us down, which allowed them to capitalise.

"They had way too many easy offloads, which allowed them to play.

"Everyone can tell you how they play."

Source: AAP