Who are the greatest South Sydney Rabbitohs players of all time? From Clive Churchill, Ron Coote and John Sattler to Greg Inglis and record-breaking try-scorer Alex Johnston, The Sporting Base ranks the top 25 South Sydney Rabbitohs players in the history of the game’s most successful club.
South Sydney have won 21 premierships, more than any other club, starting with the first season of rugby league in 1908 and ending a 43-year drought with the 2014 title. The full honour roll is kept by the Rugby League Project.
The 2026 season finished with a 20-10 elimination final loss to Newcastle, but there is plenty happening at Redfern. Alex Johnston became the greatest try-scorer in premiership history in March, Payne Haas joins from Brisbane in 2027, and Latrell Mitchell can talk to rival clubs from 1 November, with Fox Sports reporting that Souths are happy to wait until next year to reopen talks.
For live odds, team lists and form when the 2027 season starts, open the TSB NRL Match Centre, or browse our NRL news hub.
How we ranked them
This list is TSB’s opinion, weighed on premierships, individual and representative honours, longevity, peak form and lasting impact in the red and green. Games, tries and points are first-grade premiership matches for South Sydney only (finals included), taken from the Rugby League Project database, with figures for current players to the end of the 2026 season. Grand final results come from the same records, and the club’s 2004 Dream Team is noted where a player made it.
Read more: “He Wouldn’t Be Playing Fullback” Johns Warns Latrell as Souths Future Hangs in Balance
25. Tom Burgess (2013-2024)
Rabbitohs games: 249 (22 tries)
Grand final wins: 2014
Key honours: England Test forward
One of the Burgess twins, Tom came off the bench in the 2014 grand final and stayed for a decade. His 249 games are the third-most in club history, behind only John Sutton and Alex Johnston.
24. Mario Fenech (1981-1990)
Rabbitohs games: 182 (18 tries)
Grand final wins: None
Key honours: Dally M Captain of the Year 1989; NSW Origin hooker
The Maltese Falcon was the face of Souths in the 1980s. He captained the 1989 side that finished on top of the ladder and was named the Dally M Captain of the Year that season.
23. Cameron Murray (2017-present)
Rabbitohs games: 182 (40 tries)
Grand final wins: None (played in the 2021 grand final)
Key honours: Rabbitohs captain; Australia and NSW
A Souths junior and tireless lock, Murray led the side into the 2026 finals as captain. At 28, he has time to climb a long way up this list.
22. Craig Coleman (1982-1992)
Rabbitohs games: 208 (25 tries)
Grand final wins: None
Key honours: Played 192 games at halfback for the club
Tugger was the cheeky halfback who steered Souths through the 1980s, including the 1989 minor premiership season. He sits eighth on the club’s all-time games list.
21. Bernie Purcell (1949-1960)
Rabbitohs games: 173 (1,126 points)
Premiership deciders won: 1950, 1954, 1955
Key honours: Australian Test representative; third on the club’s all-time points list
A goal-kicking second-rower, Purcell kicked five goals in the 1950 decider, four in the 1954 grand final and three in the one-point 1955 win over Newtown. Only Adam Reynolds and Eric Simms have scored more points for Souths.
20. Nathan Merritt (2002-2014)
Rabbitohs games: 218 (146 tries)
Grand final wins: None
Key honours: NSW Origin winger; second on the club’s all-time try list
Raised in Redfern, Merritt was the club’s try-scoring hero through some lean years. He held the club try record until Johnston passed him in 2022.
19. George Piggins (1967-1978)
Rabbitohs games: 120 (6 tries)
Grand final wins: 1971
Key honours: Australia hooker; the club’s player of the year award is the George Piggins Medal
Piggins was a hard-as-nails hooker who started the 1971 grand final win over St George. His biggest win came later: as chairman, he led the fight to get Souths back into the NRL after the club was excluded from the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
18. Latrell Mitchell (2020-present)
Rabbitohs games: 98 (55 tries, 686 points)
Grand final wins: None
Key honours: Australia and NSW; sixth on the club’s all-time points list
Injuries have limited him to 11 games in 2026, but at his best Mitchell is one of the most damaging players in the game. His future is the biggest question facing the club this off-season.
17. Les Cowie (1947-1957)
Rabbitohs games: 176 (66 tries)
Premiership deciders won: 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955
Key honours: Australian Test player; named in the club’s 2004 Dream Team
Chicka Cowie was the lock for the great 1950s side and scored two tries in the 23-15 grand final win over Newtown in 1954.
16. Ian Moir (1952-1958)
Rabbitohs games: 110 (105 tries)
Premiership deciders won: 1953, 1954, 1955
Key honours: Australia and 1957 World Cup winner; named on the wing in the 2004 Dream Team
Moir scored almost a try a game. He crossed three times in the 31-12 win over St George in the 1953 final and also scored in the 1954 and 1955 grand finals.
15. Damien Cook (2016-2024)
Rabbitohs games: 207 (31 tries)
Grand final wins: None (played in the 2021 grand final)
Key honours: Dally M Hooker of the Year 2018; Australia and NSW
Cook’s speed out of dummy-half changed how Souths attacked. He was the Dally M Hooker of the Year in 2018 and a key part of the NSW side that won the Origin series that year.
14. Cody Walker (2016-present)
Rabbitohs games: 247 (109 tries)
Grand final wins: None (scored a try in the 2021 grand final)
Key honours: Dally M Five-eighth of the Year 2021; George Piggins Medal 2021; NSW Origin
A late starter who debuted at 26, Walker has become one of the best attacking five-eighths in club history. He is fourth on both the club’s games list and its try list.
Read more: Top 25 Sydney Roosters Players of All Time
13. Jack Rayner (1946-1957)
Rabbitohs games: 194 (58 tries)
Premiership deciders won: 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955 (all as captain)
Key honours: Australian Test player; coach of the club’s 2004 Dream Team
Rayner was the captain-coach who turned a struggling post-war side into the dominant team of the 1950s. The club later named him coach of its greatest-ever team.
12. Benny Wearing (1921-1933)
Rabbitohs games: 172 (144 tries, 836 points)
Premiership era: 1925-1932
Key honours: Australian Test player
Wearing’s career ran right through the club’s first golden age, when Souths won seven premierships in eight seasons from 1925 to 1932. His 144 tries are still third on the club list, behind only Johnston and Merritt.
11. Harold Horder (1912-1924)
Rabbitohs games: 86 (102 tries)
Key stat: More tries than games for Souths
Key honours: Australia and NSW; named on the wing in the 2004 Dream Team
Horder’s strike rate would be extraordinary in any era. More than a century later he still sits sixth on the club’s all-time try list.
10. Adam Reynolds (2012-2021)
Rabbitohs games: 231 (1,896 points)
Grand final wins: 2014
Key honours: Club record for career points; Rabbitohs captain 2020-2021
The local halfback scored a try and kicked five goals in the 30-6 grand final win over Canterbury in 2014. He was made captain in 2020, led Souths into the 2021 grand final and passed Eric Simms’ club points record that year, before winning a second premiership with Brisbane in 2025.
9. Sam Burgess (2010-2019)
Rabbitohs games: 182 (44 tries)
Grand final wins: 2014
Key honours: Clive Churchill Medal 2014; NRL Hall of Fame 2024; England international
Burgess fractured his cheekbone in the opening tackle of the 2014 grand final and played the full 80 minutes anyway, winning the Clive Churchill Medal as Souths ended their 43-year drought. He was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame in 2024.
8. John Sutton (2004-2019)
Rabbitohs games: 336 (61 tries)
Grand final wins: 2014 (captain)
Key honours: Club record for most games
Sutton played through some of the club’s darkest days after its return to the competition and was rewarded by captaining the 2014 premiership side. Nobody has played more games for South Sydney.
7. Alex Johnston (2014-present)
Rabbitohs games: 265 (240 tries)
Grand final wins: 2014
Key honours: Premiership record for career tries; Ken Irvine Medal 2020, 2021 and 2022
Johnston scored in the 2014 grand final as a teenager, and on 13 March 2026 he scored his 213th career try against the Roosters to pass Ken Irvine’s 53-year-old record, NRL.com reported. A one-club player, he was also the first player to score 30 tries in consecutive seasons.
6. Bob McCarthy (1963-1978)
Rabbitohs games: 211 (100 tries)
Grand final wins: 1967, 1970, 1971
Key honours: Australia and NSW; named in the second row of the 2004 Dream Team
McCarthy was a fast, powerful second-rower who scored tries in the 1967 and 1971 grand final wins. His 100 tries are still the most by a forward for the club.
5. Eric Simms (1965-1975)
Rabbitohs games: 206 (1,841 points)
Grand final wins: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971
Key honours: Indigenous Team of the Century fullback (2008); club points record until 2021
Simms kicked four field goals in the 1970 grand final, and the club says his field goal kicking was so effective that the value of a field goal was cut from two points to one. His 1,841 points stood as the club record until Reynolds passed it.
4. Greg Inglis (2011-2019)
Rabbitohs games: 146 (71 tries)
Grand final wins: 2014
Key honours: Rabbitohs captain from 2015; Indigenous Team of the Century (2008); NRL Hall of Fame 2024; Australia and Queensland
Inglis arrived from Melbourne in 2011 and became the club’s superstar, scoring a try in the 2014 grand final win. He was appointed captain in 2015 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Sam Burgess in 2024.
3. John Sattler (1963-1972)
Rabbitohs games: 195 (12 tries)
Grand final wins: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971 (all as captain)
Key honours: Australian Test captain; captain of the 2004 Dream Team
Sattler’s jaw was shattered early in the 1970 grand final against Manly, and he refused to leave the field as Souths won 23-12. It remains one of the most famous acts of courage in the game, and he captained the club to four premierships in five years.
2. Ron Coote (1964-1971)
Rabbitohs games: 148 (49 tries)
Grand final wins: 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971
Key honours: Rugby league’s 14th Immortal (2024); captained Australia to the 1970 World Cup; Team of the Century (2008)
Coote was a rangy lock with a famous cover tackle, and he scored a try in the 1971 grand final win over St George. He later won two more premierships with Easts, and in 2024 he was named the 14th Immortal.
1. Clive Churchill (1947-1958)
Rabbitohs games: 158 (13 tries, 74 goals)
Premierships: Fullback in the side that won five titles from 1950 to 1955
Key honours: One of the original four Immortals (1981); Australian captain in 27 Tests; Team of the Century fullback (2008)
The Little Master changed the way fullbacks played. The NRL Hall of Fame notes he was rated No.1 in Rugby League Week’s top 100 players in 1992, and he later coached Souths, including the 1970 and 1971 premierships. The grand final’s man of the match award, the Clive Churchill Medal, carries his name. He is TSB’s No.1 South Sydney Rabbitohs player.
Honourable mentions
Arthur Hennessy, Howard Hallett, Alf Blair (158 games), Johnny Graves (553 points), Ernie Hammerton, Denis Donoghue, Paul Sait, Bob Grant (two tries in the 1970 grand final), Michael Cleary (88 tries), John O’Neill, Elwyn Walters, Gary Stevens, Issac Luke and Campbell Graham (78 tries). Dream Team members Herb Gilbert, Jim Lisle, George Treweek, Greg Hawick, Ray Branighan and Ian Roberts were also close.
With Haas arriving and Johnston still adding to his record, the next chapter of Souths history is already being written. For more club rankings, see our top 25 Brisbane Broncos players and the greatest NRL grand finals of all time.
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