Celebrating the Burgess Brothers - By Mary

Am I the only one excited about this Friday night's clash between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Wests Tigers this Friday night at Allianz Stadium?

While this is not a top of the table clash and will have absolutely no bearing on whether the Tigers will be playing Finals football, it is a celebration for the Rabbitohs who for the first time will see all four Burgess brothers playing football together, for the same team. Playing for the Bunnies is a far call from where the brothers grew up in Dewsbury in the north of England. It is also a celebration for one of the NRL'S jewels, Benji Marshall as he plays his 200th game.

Team list Tuesday saw all four Burgess brothers named in the squad to take on the Wests Tigers this Friday night. Sam and Luke are named in the starting line up with the twins George and Tom to come off the bench.

This milestone could have come much sooner. The four brothers have all been at the club since the beginning of the year but Luke has spent a lot of time on the sidelines as a result of injury. Luke returned from injury, but then it was Sam spending time on the sidelines as a result of his conduct during the Bunnies clash against the Storm. Sam faced a grade one contrary conduct charge after the 'squirrel grip' incident. While this normally would only see Sam having missed one game, Sam's history at the judiciary meant that he sat on the sidelines for 2 games.  

When the Burgess brothers take the field on Friday night, they will become the first four brothers to play for the same team in the NRL in over a century, the last being Annandale's Roy, Ray, Rex and Bernard Norman in 1910. This is something to celebrate.

Having the four Burgess brothers in the same team means that Souths will be taking an extremely large forward pack into the clash with each brother weighing over 110 kilograms. Size does not just feature in the Bunnies forward pack. In the backline, John Sutton and Greg Inglis both weigh in at 105 kilograms.

While having the four Burgess brothers play together will certainly be a boost for the Rabbitohs, this game is also important because wins for the Bunnies in their last two games could seal them the Minor Premiership following the Roosters defeat on Monday night.

I have no doubt that South fans will give the boys a massive cheer on Friday night, but I'm sure the biggest cheer of all will come from their mum Julie as she watches all four of her boys play together. It certainly will be a day for the record books.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague