Be cut above the competition
ence between this weekend and what we do every week.
“We do extra line marking so it comes up on the TV a little clearer. But it’s not much more work than a (Northern) Pride game.
“The rain held us up a little bit. Some of the applications had to be held off for a few days but we’ll be right.”
Muller said his greatest joy was hearing post-game appraisals from the players and officials who tear up his preciously groomed pitch each year.
“A lot of the players are very appreciative and love coming up here playing,” he said.
“What we do is very similar to the major stadiums like Suncorp Stadium and ANZ.
“Last year, the Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire complimented me on the surface.
“He was pleased with it and acknowledged that we’d done a good job. “That’s a great feeling. “They’re still coming back. So we must be doing something right.” CHASING the sun is normally at the top of the list for Sam Burgess when he ventures to the Far North but he’s even more desperate for two points in Cairns on Sunday.
The Rabbitohs find themselves in a do-or-die scenario every weekend and will need to shake a losing record in the past two seasons at Barlow Park or face the increasing likelihood of crashing out of the finals race.
Burgess, who spent the club’s Round 16 bye weekend in Port Douglas, said he was eager to return and the boys were in high spirits despite the up-and-down nature of season 2017.
The Rabbitohs captain said all his side needed was a bit of polish to complement the attacking intent.
“We probably need to win the majority of our games, but we were in that situation last week as well and we lost by two,” Burgess said.
“We’ve just got to find a way. We had a few chances last week we would usually take. If you take your chances, you win the game. We’ve been playing more of an attacking brand of football in the last few weeks so hopefully we can put on a bit of a show for the fans and it should be a good game.”
The Rabbitohs will be hoping for a stark contrast from a 20-0 shutout at the hand of the Cowboys at Barlow Park last year, when they were starved of the ball.
Burgess said while some big-name Cowboys were missing due to injury and others backing up from Origin – the latter something his side had escaped this season – they couldn’t afford to take anyone lightly.
“Every team has got a lot of depth now. They won’t have Thurston but they still have some quality players who will put up a tough challenge for us, so we’re looking forward to a tight contest,” he said.
Burgess said he had mixed emotions about facing the other JT, 2016 Dally M winning Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo.
“I don’t think anyone looks forward to tackling him, but at the same time you want to test yourself against the best players and he’s certainly one of them,” he said.