South Sydney defend coach despite a poor seasonMark Kolbe The Rabbitohs have lost their last six games. South Sydney have leapt to the defence of coach Michael Maguire as they prepare to miss the NRL finals for the first time under his stewardship. Mark Metcalfe The team say they still have plenty of belief in Michael Maguire as a coach. Despite being one of the big underperformers this season, the likes of George Burgess and Alex Johnston praised Maguire's leadership and dismissed criticisms of his coaching style. The Rabbitohs' equation is simple - win seven from seven or perish before the finals and standing in their way is a tough draw that includes five top-eight sides including Cronulla, Melbourne, Canterbury and Canberra.

Source: Stuff July 18, 2016 06:33 UTC