Rabbitohs will take time to fire: Ryles

Sydney Roosters enforcer Jason Ryles predicts it will take time for South Sydney's
all-star forward pack to hit top gear in the NRL this season.

Last year's wooden spooners were all over the much-hyped Rabbitohs in Sunday's 36-10
win and Ryles said you couldn't expect so many big names to fire together
immediately.
The former NSW frontrower said his previous experience at St George Illawarra showed
having a team full of superstars didn't automatically mean success.
While it seemed a line-up featuring Dave Taylor, Sam Burgess and Roy Asotasi would
be difficult to topple, Ryles warned that having so many dominant players all
wanting the ball must have teething problems.
Taylor declared last week that Souths were fielding the best pack in the
competition, but they found out against their arch-rivals that there's plenty of
work to be done.
"They'll take a bit of time to gel obviously, because there's so many dominant
players in the team," said Ryles.
"But once they do they're a very good team. Once they gel they're going to be even
better.
"Probably looking back on it (Dragons years) we had a few dominant players who all
wanted the footy.
"But we tended to sort it out after a couple of games and got into it so I'd say
Souths will do the same."
Souths elder Luke Stuart agrees with Ryles that Taylor and Burgess may take time to
find their groove.
Stuart said it wasn't just the forwards, but the entire side that must learn to bind.
"We've got some good players here, we just have to make sure we play together and
play good as a team and hopefully we'll reach some of that potential," he said.
"There's been a lot of talk about the forward pack but we've got a pretty simple job
to do.
"It's not just about the forward pack, it's about the whole team getting together
and playing their best and supporting each other. If we all do that we'll definitely
improve.
"I think it's great that Sam and Dave have come to the club and they'll see what
works for them and work out combinations with the halves and the players around
them.
"They'll definitely get better and we'll get better as a team as well."
Stuart revealed he never felt comfortable with the pre-season excitement that
followed the team and said all the players were "disappointed with our effort and
our performance."
He hopes the embarrassing loss means the hype and pressure will now dissipate.
"I never expected anything to come easy, the hype surrounding the club is definitely
not my go," Stuart said.
Hooker Issac Luke lamented the fact they weren't able to walk the walk.
"It's the start of our journey, and hopefully we can pick it up," he said.
"We can't just go under pressure and talk rubbish and then not back it up.
"If you talk like that you've got to back it up, and we didn't back it up.
"I don't know if we bring it upon ourselves ... but hopefully all this hype goes
away now and we can concentrate on what we are here to do instead of who we are."