CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The tragedy of the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ last-minute 2021 Grand Final loss to the Penrith Panthers back in October has been dimmed slightly today, after the club’s diehard fanbase were able to chalk up a rather significant win to finish the year with.
The Bunnies NRL season looked to finish with a fairytale this year, with fans hoping both veteran Redfern boy Adam Reynolds and the master coach Wayne Bennett could ride off into the sunset with the trophy that no one said they could ever win at the start of the year.
However, that wasn’t to be the case after a cunning Penrith Panthers clawed themselves back into the game and won the match 14–12 to claim their third premiership title.
The two point margin between heartbreak and glory glory has been a topic to avoid around Rabbitohs fans in the months since that fateful match, with many die-hards flat out refusing to comment on the result.
But last night this deep-seeded disappointment was soothed, at least momentarily, as one of the club’s most vocal fans won a premiership of his own.
After an awful two years of lockdowns and blow-out scorelines, those who claim SSTID can today find solace in the fact that Troy Cassar-Daley won an equally contested Australian Recording Industry Association Music Award.
The Bundjalung Falcon took home the ARIA for Best Country album, with his heavy rock hybrid ‘The World Today’ – which has been described by The Betoota Advocate’s music lift-out as a “62 minute masterclass of Koori storytelling and anti-establishment axe-sharpening”.
Up against some stiff competition in the shape of Brad ‘The Bloke From Snow River’ Cox, Felicity Urquhart and Shane Nicholson – the silverware for Best Country Album eventually ended up in the Cassar-Daley cabinet – where it joins four others that have been wrangled from 13 nominations.
In ever better news from the Bunnies fans, the rest of the evening was also cleaned up by both Indigenous artists and South Sydney residents – with the Kid Laroi, Budjerah and Archie Roach all taking out gongs.
”This makes everything better” says former Rabbitoh and fellow Maltese Falcon, Mario Fenech.
”We are still hurting, but at least we can smile now”
Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell agrees.
”2021 has been tough for everyone. But we can find peace now that Uncle Troy has been recognised for his face-melting album”
”She’s on in the boat, she’s on in the Hilux and you better believe she’s on in the sheds”
