27 years of pain: South Sydney desperate to end Storm hoodoo
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The South Sydney Rabbitohs will travel south ready to end 27 years of pain in Melbourne as they look to snap one of the game's longest-running droughts.
The Rabbitohs have never beaten the Storm in Melbourne, going 0-20 in one of the more unusual hoodoos in recent rugby league history.
From epic golden point losses to 58-point drubbings, the losing streak runs the full gamut of emotions for South Sydney players and fans.
Storm v Rabbitohs – Round 8, 2025
With each loss, the streak has transitioned from niche rugby league stat to an annual reminder of the club's tortured history south of the Murray River.
The Rabbitohs will travel south once again this week for Saturday's Anzac Day clash with the Storm at AAMI Park.
Melbourne appear vulnerable this year, having lost their last five games amid a challenging start to the season, and South Sydney are desperate to capitalise.
"It's always been a big challenge going down to Melbourne and playing the Storm," Rabbitohs skipper Cam Murray said. "They've been up there as a top team of this competition for a long time.
"Playing them in their backyard has proven to be extra hard and coming up against a team like that, they're always strong. We have to be on our A-game and we have to be ready to work hard."
Match: Storm v Rabbitohs
Round 8 -
home Team
Storm
15th Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
4th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
The Rabbitohs losing streak dates back to April 24 1999, when the side travelled south to face the Storm in Melbourne for the first time.
Marcus Bai and Matt Geyer each scored doubles as the hosts claimed a comprehensive 52-6 victory at the old Olympic Park. South Sydney went on to lose all seven games played at the venue.
Best finishes of 2018: Munster miracle rolls Rabbitohs
Fans who hoped the move to AAMI Park would bring some joy for the Rabbitohs were sadly mistaken, the side suffering a tight 18-16 loss in their first match at the new rectangular stadium in 2010.
Since then, they have lost a further 12 games at the ground. The low point was a 64-6 defeat in 2017, while they have come within one point of victory twice.
A Cam Munster field goal was the difference in the opening week of the 2018 finals series, while it was Ryan Papenhuyzen who sunk the Rabbitohs in 2022.
Latrell leveller in dramatic fashion
Latrell Mitchell memorably landed a two-point field goal in the final minute of regulation to send the game to extra time. It was to no avail, Papenhuyzen kicking a field goal of his own in the 82nd minute to extend the streak.
The former fullback's kick feels like a distant memory today, with Melbourne struggling after an off-season of upheaval.
Craig Bellamy's men are in uncharted territory, sitting in 15th place and desperate to end a five-game losing streak.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes concedes the past month has been challenging and said his side will have to be at their best if they are to extend their winning run over the Rabbitohs.
"It's tough losing games," Hughes told reporters in Melbourne. "I'm a sore loser more than anyone else but you've got to take some positives. During [last week's] game we felt like we were back to our best but didn't sustain it for long enough.
"The good signs were there but there's still a lot to work on. Hopefully from that game we can take the positives and not look at the negatives too much.
"The Rabbitohs are a good team, they've got a good forward pack and nearly an even better backline. With the strike players out wide, we're going to need to be on our game.
"We have to lift our defence, hopefully we'll take a step in the right direction and slow them down where we can."
Pap wins it for the Storm
While the Rabbitohs have struggled to taste team success, there have been plenty of individual highs along the way.
Alex Johnston has scored six tries in six games in Melbourne as part of a broader run of 17 tries in 15 games against the Storm.
The veteran will play his 250th NRL game on Saturday night and is desperate to celebrate the personal milestone with a drought-breaking victory.
"There's room for improvement in the way we're playing," Johnston said. "Consistency is the key. We can't have one week on, one week off. We need to knuckle down and play our best footy this week.
"We need to go down there and get our first win. It's been 20 games so we need to go and get a win."
