If you tuned in to South Sydney’s Anzac Day clash with the Melbourne Storm on Thursday night, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t recognise the Rabbitohs.
Souths were looking for their first win since a 20-16 victory over the Bulldogs in Round 4, but hope of a second win was extinguished in the first half against the Storm.
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Melbourne ran riot in the opening 40 minutes as Xavier Coates scored a hat-trick before exiting the game with a hamstring injury.
Cameron Munster, Harry Grant, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona dominated as the Storm led 32-4 at half time.
In the third NRL game on Anzac Day, the Storm wore a commemorative purple and black striped jersey with a red poppy on the chest.
But the Rabbitohs looked like a completely different team. The iconic green and red stripes could only be seen on their socks and the club’s usual jersey had been replaced by a one-off predominantly white and navy blue jersey.
Rugby league fans were baffled by the look, with many pointing out the jersey’s resemblance to the North Queensland Cowboys strip.
Nine’s The Mole wrote on X: “Sorry but really don’t like this Souths jersey … needs to have a little red & green … what the Bunnies are all about.”
One fan said: “Souths jersey giving me mad cowboys vibes with that colour scheme.”
A second posted: “The Souths jerseys are terrible. They look more like the Cowboys . Why not stick to tradition.”
A third joked: “I wonder if The Rabbitohs playing in Cowboy jerseys will make them play better.”
Another said: “Forgot Rabbitohs were in that god awful ANZAC jersey.”
Earlier this week, South Sydney confirmed the team would wear the special Navy-themed jersey for the Anzac Round, marking the third year of an ongoing partnership with the Royal Australian Navy.
The club said: “The jersey underscores our enduring commitment to the values we share with the Royal Australian Navy, including mateship, high performance, commitment to the team and achieving success.
“The 2024 ANZAC Jersey proudly mirrors the Navy’s ‘sailor suits’ ceremonial uniform, similar to those worn by Royal Australian Navy personnel in the Second World War.
Five dollars from every Rabbitohs ANZAC jersey sold through the Rabbitohs will be donated to Keeping Watch, a perpetual charitable fund that provides assistance to serving members of the Royal Australian Navy and their families who are in financial need.
It has become increasingly common in recent years for NRL and AFL teams to play in a commemorative jersey for their Anzac Round games.
But last year’s Wests Tigers fiasco prompted discussion over whether the Anzac jerseys had become a commercially driven gimmick amid scrutiny over where proceeds of the jersey sales go.