Football fans criticized the South Sydney Rabbitohs after the team looked unrecognizable in their Anzac Day jerseys on Thursday.
Souths, looking to end their torrid losing streak that has put pressure on Jason Demetriou, came out with a special slot to mark the historic day in the Australian calendar.
Instead of wearing their iconic green and red, the Bunnies wore a white and navy number, leaving many fans baffled.
“Sorry but I don’t really like this Souths jersey… it needs to have a bit of red and green… what the Bunnies are all about,” football personality The Mole said on X.
Fans compared the jersey to that of the North Queensland team.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been criticized for their Anzac Day strip
The Bunnies wore white and navy blue for Thursday’s game.
‘The Souths shirts are terrible. They look more like the Cowboys. Why not follow the tradition?
Another fan said: “The Souths jersey gives me crazy cowboy vibes with that color combination.”
A third fan added: “I wonder if the Rabbitohs playing in cowboy shirts will make them play better.”
Melbourne Storm, Souths’ opponents on Thursday night, also debuted their own Anzac Day kit, but it was in keeping with the club’s traditional purple color scheme.
Souths explained the shirt was a tribute to the Royal Australian Navy before the match.
The club said: “The shirt underlines our long-standing commitment to the values ​​we share with the Royal Australian Navy, including camaraderie, high performance, commitment to the team and achieving success.”
“The ANZAC 2024 jersey proudly reflects the Navy’s ceremonial ‘sailor suits’ uniform, similar to those worn by Royal Australian Navy personnel in World War II.”
The controversial strip did little to change Souths’ fortunes as a Cameron Munster masterclass saw the Storm defeat their NRL rivals 54-20.
With Gold Coast toppling the Warriors earlier in the day, the defeat saw Souths fall back to the bottom of the NRL ladder.
It was a far cry from the club’s iconic green and red shirt.
Fans compared Souths’ Anzac Day strip to North Queensland Cowboys
Xavier Coates left AAMI Park in the 34th minute with hamstring tightness but combined with Munster in the five-eighth for three first-half tries for a 32-4 half-time lead.
Souths scored three tries in nine minutes in the second half to briefly pull away a contest, but it was too late.
Munster missed the first four rounds with a groin problem but returned to his deceptive best, using both his precise kicking and aerial game to set up tries.
He then crossed for one of his own in the 66th minute to extinguish Souths’ late challenge.
Despite sitting second in the standings heading into the match, Melbourne had only led once in the 70th minute in five wins, relying on some late heroics.
They didn’t need that against their new Anzac Day opponents as the Rabbitohs replaced the Warriors in the annual fixture.
Souths were in the game until the 27th minute, only trailing 10-4, but the Storm racked up five more tries before the half-time siren and it was effectively game over.
The Rabbitohs’ poor run continued when they were defeated by the Melbourne Storm.
The misery continued when fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen slid in from dead half four minutes into the second half for his second try, but then the visitors were finally able to stem the flow.
Five-eighths Cody Walker and Jacob Gagai repeated a first-half effort, with the winger diving for his second try.
Souths took advantage of Tyran Wishart covering Coates on the wing, and Taane Milne pushed him aside to score in the 57th minute, before captain Cameron Murray crossed two minutes later to close the gap to 36-20.
But Munster’s try turned the tide for Melbourne, with Wishart and Joe Chan taking the tally to 10 tries to stretch the Rabbitohs’ record south of the border to 19 consecutive defeats.