Not only were South Sydney Rabbitohs reasonably average for much of the 2016 NRL season, their struggles were compounded from a #KiwiNRL perspective thanks to their lack of kiwi/polynesian lads. Obviously it's not a coincidence because we know how our #KiwiNRL lads contribute to success and even moving forward the Bunnies won't be providing any players to the Kiwis World Cup squad.

Bryson Goodwin is usually the consistent presence, yet there was a stage last season when he and Zane Musgrove were both injured leaving the Bunnies in #KiwiNRL no man's land. Goodwin has quickly become a senior figure with the Rabbitohs and he'll likely maintain his position on the wing where he's steady, isn't overly expensive and knows what coach Michael Maguire is all about.

The rest of the Rabbitohs' #KiwiNRL crew are youngsters who are looking to establish themselves in the NRL with consistent game time. Musgrove leads that pack and the big Mangere East junior was a cheeky shock selection heading into last season, so look for him to enjoy plenty of minutes and more importantly develop his game through the middle. 

Not so many kiwi cuzzies and a Burgess clan that weren't close to their collective best last season resulted in the Rabbitohs struggling. So hopefully we are treated to Musgrove playing a lot of footy alongside Sam, George and Tom; if they are at their rampant best then Musgrove will slot in nicely.

As I wrote last week, Siosifa Talakai has been re-signed and although his best chance for minutes could be off the bench, I certainly wouldn't rule out Talakai settling into a centre spot. The development from that thingy-ma-jig about the Rabbitohs re-signing Talakai and Mawene Hiroti came from Fox Sports in Australia, who reported that Hiroti was very close to playing in the NRL Nines but as he's only 17-years-old, the NRL wouldn't allow it.

I had already seen a few things regard Hiroti's talent and how highly regarded he is at the Bunnies but after training with the fulltime squad over summer, Hiroti has obviously made a massive impression. It's a stretch to say that Hiroti will make his NRL debut this season, if you do manage to catch a Rabbitohs Under 20s game or hear Hiroti mentioned somewhere, note it down because all signs point to this kid from Taranaki being a gun.