By Lance Jenkinson
Truganina is setting the pace in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest NRL Victoria first-grade premiership races in years.
The Rabbitohs had the luxury of the bye last weekend and watched on as the rest of the teams battered one another.
The Phil Pese-coached Rabbitohs went into the break safe in the knowledge that their spot at the top of the ladder could not be compromised.
“I can’t be disappointed with how the team is going at the moment,” Pese said.
“We’ve still got things to work on, but … we’re getting a feel for the other teams.
“The second round of games, we’ll try to cement some combinations and some set players moving into the back end of the
season.”
Truganina has built its identity in the first half of the season on its hard-nosed defence.
The Rabbitohs clearly have the toughest defence to penetrate, conceding on average just 13.55 points a game.
For Pese, that sort of defence was a non-negotiable when he arrived at Truganina in the pre-season.
When it comes down to big games, the team with the best defence usually wins, as evidenced by the scorelines of recent grand finals.
Pese’s former club, the Werribee Bears, have won each of the past three grand finals by scoring 20 points or less.
Pese is pleased with how the Rabbitohs have applied themselves defensively.
“It comes down to the players’ attitudes,” he said.
“I really wanted to enforce defence this year and we did a lot of work on it in the pre-season.
“When it comes to close games at the end of the season, defence is going to win you championships and everyone knows that.
“If we educate the players correctly, we can get them into a good mindset defensively.”
That is not to say that Truganina is the finished article when it comes to defending.
Pese pointed out the points conceded in a 62-16 win over newly promoted Melton Broncos last start as an indication that work still needed to be done.
“Even though our defensive record is good, there’s a lot we need to work on,” he said.
“There’s been a couple of games where teams have scored points where we should’ve shut them out.”
Truganina seems to have struck the right balance between attack and defence.
The Rabbitohs are also ranked No.1 in points for, averaging 40.88 a game.
Pese promotes an unpredictable style of play, which gives all players equal opportunity when it comes to scoring tries.
“One of the things we wanted to work on was making sure everyone is available in attack and get everyone pro-active,” he said.
“The more players we get across the line makes us more of a team and not reliant on one or two guys doing the try scoring.”
Truganina has some great leaders directing the team around the field.
Captain Keni Blair and vice-captains James Aspden and Tiui Misi are vocal on-field and lead by example.
Francis Toetu and Rudy Misi lead the way with the most tries for the Rabbitohs with six apiece.
Truganina will face Werribee Bears in a top-of-the-table clash at Haines Drive Reserve on Saturday.
Pese is confident in his Rabbitohs team, but knows the Bears will be smarting and going for revenge after their first meeting.
“The morale of our team is in a good way,” Pese said.
“I know the Bears are looking forward to this clash after we gave it to them in the first round.”
