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NRL legend Matty Johns believes the best is yet to come for Rabbitohs star Cody Walker and is confident he and Latrell Mitchell can “shake the competition.”
But he has also urged the Rabbitohs not to rely on the talent of their big guns so much heading into finals.
Speaking on The Matty Johns Podcast, Johns said the Rabbitohs have “got the capability to win the competition,” but tend to fall back on the x-factor of star players like Mitchell and Walker.
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“South Sydney’s an interesting one,” Johns said.
“South Sydney have got the capability to win the competition but they trust their talent too much if that makes sense.
“They look to me to be a team that, watching them last week, they were creating so many opportunities but they were just frivolous with the football and you could see their mindset was we’ll find a way to win this.
“There’s a cricket story about trusting talent which I like.
“It’s David Boon who was just like a naturally gifted batsman and he’s opening partner was a fellow called Geoff Marsh.
“They were touring in the UK and they were roommates and Boony woke up one night in the middle of the night and looked up and Geoff Marsh was standing in front of the mirror and was practising his block shot.
“He said what’re you doing? Go back to bed and he said I’m not like you I don’t trust my talent and at the moment Souths could do with a little bit of Geoff Marsh in them.
“Because they’re incredibly talented and they know it and a couple of times in the last month they’ve been bitten in the arse with the Sharks and of course last week against Penrith.”
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While Cronk credited how well-drilled Jason Demetriou’s troops are, he believes South Sydney’s attack has become far too predictable.
“The thing about South Sydney is if you watch it from a helicopter view Souths, they are so visual of what they’re going to do,” Cronk said.
“Where Walker stands, where Latrell stands and you think I can stop this, but they are millimetre perfect with their shapes.
“They might just run Tatola out to the right edge, they’ll see Ilias, Walker, Mitchell.
“It’s obvious that they’re going this way but yet Alex Johnston scores as many tries as he does because he puts the ball down in the corner and it’s a fact that they are so well-drilled with those shapes.
“They know those shapes inside and out so it’s a double-edged sword right, like knowing it’s coming they still can’t stop the opposition but within that they probably need a bit of that fallback.
“That’s where Ilias and Koloamatangi combination on that right edge is crucial because if they load up on Latrell and Cody they need option two and that’s the only way they can go through Ilias with that out ball to Koloamatangi.
“I think I’m with you on the back of what Latrell’s doing and Cody, they can shake this competition but the reliable parts of their game are going to have to hold them in.”
Following a decline in form earlier in the season and with rumours he wasn’t enjoying his football, Johns believes Walker will be at his best towards the end of the season.
“I can see Cody Walker’s about to go and hit his best football, he just sees certain things,” Johns said.
“One crucial part of his game, he’s reconnected with the middle of the field again reconnecting with Cook.
“When Cook’s going, Cody’s going as well and that primarily Cody for all his brilliance and passing I think the thing that really gets his game going is his running game.
“You saw that with his close support when Latrell did that magic ball right off his hip.
“His passing the other night was superb, he’s the best player in the competition Coops on those little sweep options of the ball hitting his hands and instantaneously finding the right pass.”
Cronk mentioned some of Walker’s statistics from 2021, believing that the Rabbitohs five-eighth walked into 2022 with an expectation and complacency that things would fall into place.
“I think off the back of what he did last year, 50 odd line break assists, 30 almost 40 try assists, I think he started this year almost searching for that play,” Cronk said.
“He just wanted to feel that big pass of what came off the back of it and he was in and out of form earlier on, Latrell coming back helps but the other part is as a ballplayer we said this a number of times, if you can create yourself first you can create for anyone else.
“I think the first part of the year he was just going for long passes where as now he’s reconnected with Cook, running the game, offload to Latrell on the weekend.
“Now all of a sudden defenders are going ‘Cody’s going to run the ball, I’m going to stand still,’ they shorten up the line then Cody’s got the ability to throw the pass so they can put it together but again I’ll go back to it, it’s their defence.
“If they can keep teams close and defend really well and stop the opposition I think that’s South Sydney’s key, not Latrell and Cody setting up tries.”
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While the 32-year-old plays a key role for South Sydney, Johns iterated that his teammates also have to step up as well.
“I think they on the Cody situation on that left side is so important for them, they need to help him a little bit too,” Johns said.
“I love Jai Arrow through the middle. You know yourself how much a ballplayer, creative player relies on his deputy is that edge back rower and for me Jai’s not an edge back rower.
“For me I watched it the other night and he did a good job but it was always often times a step off the mark, hitting the wrong half of the gap.
“Those little things that Cody needs his back-rower to just nail.”
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