Wayne Bennett’s Bunnies couldn’t match it with the Panthers on Sunday but he insists one benched star wouldn’t have helped turn the tide.
The Panthers utterly embarrassed the Rabbitohs on Sunday afternoon, leaving Souths’ premiership credentials in tatters with their 56-12 win at Dubbo’s Apex Park.
The return of Campbell Graham, Latrell Mitchell and Josh Mansour into the cardinal and myrtle ranks did little to quell the Penrith onslaught, as the Rabbitohs let in 50 points for the second time in three weeks.
As the scoreline began to blow out, many were left scratching their heads when coach Wayne Bennett chose not to inject veteran playmaker Benji Marshall into the action.
Marshall, who was given the flick by the Tigers at the end of last season, has proven a handy pick-up for the Bunnies, turning the clock back to become the perfect secret weapon off the Rabbitohs’ bench.
The 36-year-old would have done better to spend the 80 minutes at Dubbo’s Western Plains Zoo, however, as he played not a single minute in Sunday’s shellacking.
Asked whether he thought about subbing the 2005 Premiership-winner into the game, Bennett didn’t have to think too hard before answering.
“No I didn’t, I wasn’t going to embarrass him,” the super coach said.
“We weren’t defending (well) … Benji’s not known as the greatest defender the game’s ever seen”.
Bennett called the Rabbitohs’ loss “pretty disappointing”, but conceded that the Panthers put on a “wonderful” performance in the central west.
“They played great football,” Bennett said of the ladder-leaders.
The Rabbitohs have their work cut out for them if they hope to re-enter the winner’s circle next week. They’ll face fellow top four side Parramatta at Stadium Australia on Saturday.