South Sydney forward Jason Clark is adamant his side is not coached to injure opponents after five Rabbitohs were cited for wrestling manoeuvres in just two games.
The foundation club has again come under scrutiny for its defensive techniques after Ben T'eo was suspended for a chicken wing tackle on Brisbane's Sam Thaiday last Thursday. Teammates Chris McQueen and Kirisome Auva'a were cited for crusher tackles, while George Burgess and Issac Luke have also gained the attention of the match review committee in the past fortnight.
Speaking at the Sydney Cricket Ground after being inducted into the NRL-Rugby League Players Association academic team of the year, Clark said the indiscretions were something the Rabbitohs were trying to eradicate from their game.
"You never want to see anyone hurt in the game,'' Clark said.
''Unfortunately [that] has happened this year with a couple of tackles. We're aiming to do the right things right and get our defence right.
''If someone was going out in the game to intentionally hurt someone – you would hope that never happens.
"You want all 17 men to walk off the field safe and that's how you want to feel in our game, you want to feel safe while you're playing.''
South Sydney coach Michael Maguire was criticised by rivals during his time in the Super League, most notably by former St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown, about wrestling tactics. After beating Manly, Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey said the Rabbitohs had ''wrestled the crap'' out of his team.
However, Clark said there was no intention to injure opponents.
"It's a defensive game, it's a contact game,'' said the apprentice plumber who has a certificate three in fitness and certificate four in small business.
''We're working on that, we're trying to get those little things right so we don't get into those situations. We'll try to get that out of the game.
"Every team does defence and we're working on that to get the little things right so those things don't happen.''
The Rabbitohs have rocketed into premiership favouritism after a dominant month of football that included wins over Manly and Brisbane. They will remain a chance of claiming the minor premiership if they defeat another finals-bound side, North Queensland, at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
While Clark believes the emergence of youngsters including Dylan Walker, Luke Keary and Auva'a make the present squad superior to the one that bowed out a game before the grand final two seasons in a row, he was not buying into the expectation surrounding the Bunnies.
"That's footy – if media want to hype it up, that's what they're going to do,'' he said.
"It's an exciting time of the year, coming into semis. We've got three tough games coming up and we're taking it week by week at the moment.''
