A FITTER, leaner Greg Inglis is on track to wreak havoc on Canberra and, in the process, carry the red-hot Rabbitohs on a finals run eerily similar to the Raiders' charge a year ago.
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The Kangaroos and Maroons centre joined South Sydney amid much fanfare in the off-season, after a deal with the Brisbane Broncos fell through.
Inglis struggled to make an impact in the first half of the season, but - like the Rabbitohs themselves - has roared to life in the past month.
Rabbitohs fullback Nathan Merritt hopes that form continues in today's encounter at Canberra Stadium.
''It's been a slow process with GI,'' Merritt said. ''He didn't have a pre-season, so he's just started to hit his straps. He's starting to get a bit of confidence and hopefully he can do the same again [against Canberra].''
Merritt made no secret of how the Rabbitohs plan to make the most of Inglis's damaging presence.
''Get GI a bit of early ball, let him play one-on-one with his [rival] centre,'' he said. ''He's pretty hard to stop one-on-one.''
Inglis, barnstorming back-rower Dave Taylor and five-eighth John Sutton form one of the most dynamic left-edge attacking units in the competition. So it's no coincidence that with Inglis firing, so are the Bunnies.
A come-from-behind victory over the reigning premiers, St George Illawarra, was followed by a 56-6 thumping of Parramatta.
Merritt grabbed the headlines from his more famous colleagues, crossing for a career-high five tries - the seventh player in Rabbitohs history to do so.
The majority of those were with the clever fullback sniffing around the middle of the ruck and capitalising on the ball play of halves Sutton and Chris Sandow.
Merritt is one of the Rabbitohs' most underrated and most loyal players. In his eighth year with the club, the 28-year-old has finally found his niche at fullback, after spending the majority of his career on the wing.
''I really enjoy playing fullback because it gives you an opportunity to hang around and pop up wherever you want,'' he said.
''It gives you a licence to roam either side of the field.''
The ninth-placed Rabbitohs would need to win all four of their remaining games to sneak into the top eight.
It is a scenario the Raiders faced last year, when they won eight of their final nine games to finish in seventh place.
The Raiders knocked off Penrith in a qualifying final, before going down to the Wests Tigers in a dramatic two-point semi-final loss.
With a potent attack and hard-hitting forwards, the Rabbitohs are building similar momentum.
Their first goal is to overcome a Raiders side renowned for its inconsistency.
''Canberra's going to be the biggest hurdle this week,'' Merritt said.
''[The] Raiders are one of those sides that are really unpredictable. One week they can turn up and one week they can't.''
