Seibold insists history counts for nought

Sydney coach Anthony Seibold believes his charges have nothing to prove when they meet defending premier Melbourne in a top-ofthe-table clash tonight.

The Rabbitohs have won 10 of their past 11 games to surge to second on the ladder – their highest point this late in the season since their breakthrough title in 2014.

But Seibold’s side haven’t met a top-eight team in almost two months, with their eight-game winning streak snapped by Wests Tigers in round 19, before a narrow win over last-placed Parramatta last week.

Despite the Rabbitohs winning only four of their 24 matches against the Storm, Seibold insists his team has already demonstrated their premiership credentials earlier this year.

“We’ve shown earlier in the season that we’ve put our best performances against the better teams, particularly since round three,” Seibold said yesterday.

“We’re really excited about the challenge.

“It’s about trying to improve our game. We’ve spoken all year about the changes we’ve made to how we play this year. It’s about trying to build on that.”

The Rabbitohs have lost five straight against the current ladSOUTH der leaders, including a record 64-6 humiliation at AAMI Park late last year.

But Seibold hit back at suggestions their history against the Storm would have any bearing on tonight’s battle and pointed out his team was on track to match their total of 18 wins over the past two seasons.

“We’ve shown a lot of improvement this year. We’ve won 10 from our last 11 games. We’ve won 14 from our last 17 games,” he said.

“And the club in the last two years only won 18 games, so we’ve significantly improved.

“Whether that’s enough to get the job done tomorrow, who knows ... it’s a different team, a different game plan, a different staff. I don’t think any prior results is going to have any impact on what we do tomorrow night.”