Rabbitohs reportedly target forward from rival club: Transfer Whispers

He had been linked with a move to the Wests Tigers.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are reportedly targeting Manly Sea Eagles forward Sean Keppie for the 2024 season.

The Rabbitohs will welcome the arrival of representative playmaker Jack Wighton for next season but will lose the quartet of Jed Cartwright, Liam Knight (left in the middle of the season to the Bulldogs), Hame Sele and Blake Taaffe.

Aiming to improve their forward stocks after missing out on the top eight, they have identified a 25-year-old Sea Eagles player as a potential option.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Rabbitohs’ club officials have already started discussions with the Manly Sea Eagles regarding Sean Keppie.

Keppie is currently contracted with the Rabbitohs until the end of the 2026 season; however, the Sea Eagles may release him from his deal to accommodate free space in their salary cap.

This is due to the club recently signing Luke Brooks, Jaxson Paulo, Tommy Talau and Aitasi James, as well as locking up Josh Schuter and Haumole Olakau’atu on big-money extensions.

Last month, Keppie was reportedly given the green light to speak to rival clubs and was linked to the Wests Tigers involving a player swap with Alex Twal.

The reported decision by the Sea Eagles surrounding Keppie is surprising, considering he has spent a significant amount of time this season in either the starting front row or lock position and he is signed for a further three seasons- a deal he only signed less than one year ago.

Keppie has played 79 games for the Sea Eagles since his debut in 2019.

“Sean has certainly worked hard and is becoming a natural leader of our pack,” Sea Eagles CEO Tony Mestrov said in a club statement at the time of his extension.

“His best years as a prop are still ahead of him, so we are very happy to have him here for the long term.

“Furthermore, Sean is highly respected for his genuine work in the community that has seen him been the club’s nominee for the Ken Stephen Medal for the past two years.”

 

 

 

 

Souths legend Nathan Merritt fights for his life in Sydney hospital

Former South Sydney winger Nathan Merritt is fighting for his life at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

Merritt, one of the game’s greatest try-scorers, was admitted to the hospital in Camperdown on Friday and is in a serious condition on life support.

The Rabbitohs and RPA declined to comment out of respect for the 40-year-old’s privacy.

However, sources said, on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, that Merritt had an adverse reaction to prescribed pain medication. He was taken to hospital after being found unresponsive on Friday.

Friends and family have been made aware of his condition.

Merritt scored 154 tries in 237 NRL appearances during a career spent predominantly at South Sydney. His total of 151 tries at Souths puts him behind only Alex Johnston (187) and Benny Wearing (168) as the most scored for the foundation club. Merritt is still equal 12th on the list of all-time leading try-scorers in top-flight rugby league in Australia.

The former NSW Origin representative topped the NRL’s try-scoring list twice. Remarkably, one of those occasions, in 2006, occurred when the Rabbitohs earned the wooden spoon.

He is fourth on the list of most capped Rabbitohs and has also represented the Blues, the Prime Minister’s XIII, City Origin and the Indigenous All Stars.

Only last weekend, he played in a Koori Knockout tournament.

South Sydney were also rocked by the death of premiership-winning forward Kyle Turner, at the age of 31, in August.

Merritt’s honours include winning the George Piggins Medal as the club’s best player in 2011, the Jack Rayner players’ player award in 2006 and 2008, the Roy Asotasi members’ choice award in 2009 and the Burrow player of the year in 2006 and 2009.

Known for his speed and ability to find the try line, Merritt scored a club record-equalling five tries in a 56-6 win against Parramatta in 2011.

Perhaps his most famous moment came from executing a surprising skill. With only seconds left on the clock and the scores level in a clash against Wests Tigers in 2009, the winger kicked a decisive field goal to steal the win.

Rabbitohs player No.974 played his junior football at Alexandria Rovers, the club where his father, Tony, played. Upon retiring from the NRL in 2014, he set up the Nathan Merritt Foundation to provide support and mentoring to Indigenous youth in the Redfern area.

During his retirement speech, he said wearing the famous cardinal and myrtle jersey had been a dream come true.

“I absolutely loved playing for South Sydney,” Merrit said at the time. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid jumping the fence at Redfern Oval to watch guys like Mario Fenech and Craig Coleman.”

Perhaps his greatest legacy was showing other young footballers there was a place for smaller physiques during an era in which most players – including some wingers – weigh in at 100 kilograms or more.