NRL News Rugby League

Paging George Piggins?
Adam Sutcliffe - NRLnews.com

Well they say a week is a long time in NRL Rugby League, but these weeks must be extra long for one time South Sydney saviour George Piggins. The former father of the South Sydney Rabbitohs must be feeling a little bit uncomfortable after such a brilliant run of form from the Rabbits in the 2007 NRL.

The high flying Rabbits have turned on champagne Rugby League this year and are boasting a side full of committed contenders.

While it is only Round 2, the Bunnies are equal first and have an enviable defensive record so far this year. If the Rabbits win next week, they will equal last years total winning game number. The magic 3.

With the Crowe / Holmes Acourt take over looming last year, Piggins fought staunchly to block the planned takeover and chose to spread the gospel of fear throughout the Souths faithful. Piggins contacted old players, he held press conferences and told anyone that would listen - this takeover would be bad for Souths!

Fast forward to now, with the new ownership of Crowe and A Court in control, the Bunnies now have decent training facilities, a star studded playing roster, the largest sponsorship deals in the league, massive crowds, a younger audience and a new found passion for winning.

With the early signs pointing to a successful takeover - no one in the current South Sydney management fold would go public in saying 'Look at us now George!' - but surely there would be some back room sniggering, as George Piggins certainly made any changes to the proud club much more difficult.

The South Sydney Club has a deep and proud tradition, but after many years of on-field and off-field disasters - it was well overdue for some changes. The old guard consisting of Piggins and his allies simply prevented any change implementation and confined themselves to mediocrity.

As the old saying goes 'The only constant is change' - and George Piggins' resistance to this delayed the famous club from once again reaching the great heights it deserves.

In a show of true professionalism the current management group and inner sanctum at the Rabbitohs have offered Piggins and his close supporters the olive branch. Welcoming them back into the family that is South Sydney.

It is unknown whether Piggins has accepted this offer and it has been widely reported that George has stated he'll never watch another South Sydney game again.

So if someone reading this knows George Piggins, tell him to turn on the Television or get out to a Souths game! Because the Rabbits are 2 and 0 - and they are playing like true contenders for the NRL 2007 Title!

Was it the right thing to do for Souths? Well the public certainly think so, because they are voting with their feet!