NRL: Souths shrug off pressure

John Sutton says the Rabbitohs now treat their fans' high expectations as "just noise in the background". Picture / Getty Images

South Sydney skipper John Sutton says the Rabbitohs have learned to deal with the weight of expectation that surrounds their five-decade-long premiership drought before their third successive NRL finals series.

Title-less since 1971 and absent from the finals between 1989 and 2007, the cardinal and myrtle are now a regular feature of the playoffs, but successive preliminary final fadeouts have stopped them in their tracks.

Expectation is high again that this might be the year Souths finally smash their premiership hoodoo, but Sutton says it is not something that weighs on his or his teammates' minds.

"That is just noise in the background," Sutton said. "It is something we have been dealing with for a few years now, we are just focused on what we have to do.

"At training and in our preparation that is all we have to focus on at the moment and the boys have got that down pat."

Souths play their 2013 finals conquerors Manly in the opening finals game at Allianz Stadium tonight.

After South Sydney led 14-0 early in their preliminary final last season, Manly ran over the top of the Rabbitohs to progress to the grand final and leave Souths fans again wondering what might have been.

Manly playmaker Kieran Foran believes there is a great expectation on the Rabbitohs at this time of the year.

"There is a bit of added pressure for them that comes with that, they keep hearing that this is the year they will break that drought," he said.

"But they won't be worrying about the past.

"Finals footy is an entirely different prospect, we have learned that here [at Manly]. The game goes up a whole new level and that is what you need to worry about."

Manly have extra incentive to win.

Star hooker Matt Ballin is on track to make an early return from a leg fracture should Manly qualify for an NRL preliminary final.

Manly's forward stocks have been hard hit in the past month, but if the Sea Eagles can dig in against Souths, and rookie hooker Jayden Hodges can hold his own up against New Zealand dynamo Isaac Luke, Manly are confident their on-field general Ballin can return for the knockout match a fortnight later to get into the grand final.

"The week off would be fantastic," said Manly coach Geoff Toovey.

"Matty Ballin [would then be a] chance so that's a good news story for us."

Ballin might not be the biggest name in the Sea Eagles line-up, but his value can't be underestimated as the most durable dummy-half in the NRL.

Until suffering a fracture in his leg in round 25 against Penrith, Ballin had missed only one match since 2010.

The last time he spent an extended stint on the sidelines was way back in 2007, his debut season.

The stability of having their hooker on the field every week has been integral to Manly's reputation as arguably the most consistent team of the past decade.

Ballin's absence was keenly felt in last week's thumping loss to North Queensland, although there were promising signs from 20-year-old Hodges.

The Cairns product and cousin of Queensland star Justin Hodges completed 51 tackles and ran for 69 metres in his first 80-minute performance.

The Sea Eagles are hopeful prop Richie Fa'aoso could complete an incredible recovery from a broken neck to play again this year - and alleviate the losses of Glenn Stewart and Jamie Buhrer.

- AAP