NRL: Surprise Bunny causes boilover

Greg Inglis. Photo / Getty Images

Kangaroos and Broncos forward Sam Thaiday said he was stunned by Greg Inglis' contractual backflip and hopes his Queensland team-mate one day outlines the reasons for reneging on Brisbane to sign a A$1.8 million deal with South Sydney.

Thaiday, talking to Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper, said the Broncos' large supporter base would want answers after the Test flyer failed to honour a handshake agreement.

"It's tough to hear," Thaiday said. "I always thought GI wanted to be here, I always thought he was keen as mustard to be up here in Brissie. I think Greg will explain what happened when the time is right."

Thaiday's international, Queensland teammate and Storm captain Cameron Smith also expressed surprise at Inglis' big-money defection to Souths, saying he worried about how he would handle being under the microscope in Sydney.

Smith said Storm players were left in no doubt the 23-year-old had initially set his sights on a move to Red Hill.

"I'll be honest, I was a bit shocked that he chose to turn down the Broncos offer and go to Sydney," said Smith. "When he decided he was going to leave our club, he said he wanted to go back to Brissie - he had spent a fair bit of time with his fiancee up there and seemed happy with the decision to go."

Former Rabbitohs prop Mark Carroll yesterday declared the pressure was now on Souths to break their 39-year premiership drought.

"The ball's in South Sydney's court - now win the comp," Carroll said. "That's what the fans are expecting."

Rabbitohs great Ron Coote said he believed the club was back as a premiership force.

"You need players like that," he told the Daily Telegraph. "I mean, star players win grand finals and he's certainly a star player."

Coote denied Inglis faced enormous pressure: "I don't think you can put that on any player. I think Souths people will be happy to see him there and there's no reason he won't continue the great work he did at the Storm."

Once the news broke, TAB Sportsbet made South Sydney second favourites (at A$7) for the 2011 NRL Premiership. The Rabbitohs were rated ahead of the Roosters ($8) and Storm ($9).

Meanwhile, if the Storm have lost Inglis, they have picked up Umaga and McGahan.

Not Tana and Hugh - but their sons, Cade Umaga, 16, and Matt McGahan, 17.

Both were stars in rugby union, with first five-eighth McGahan winning man of the match in the New Zealand schools' 30-21 defeat of Australia in Dunedin last month. Umaga was selected in the national under-17 merit team.

Storm recruitment manager Darren Bell signed both to league and predicted they will one day play together in Melbourne's NRL team.

"Both of them are very, very talented, and obviously they have good pedigrees," Bell told the Sydney Morning Herald.