Written off as finals no-hopers, South Sydney are quietly hatching a plan to fly under the radar all the way to the NRL playoffs in 2009.

Rated in the bottom line of betting to win the premiership, and given no chance of making the finals in a poll of NRL captains, the Rabbitohs enter 2009 amidst no expectation and with the knowledge things couldn't start any worse than they did in 2008.

The Bunnies lost star recruit Craig Wing eight minutes into the season last year with a shoulder injury, didn't notch a win until round eight and couldn't find another victory until round 13.

They eventually plugged their way back into 14th position on the table with eight wins for the year - five victories shy of the finals.

But confidence is high at Redfern that they can get back up to the top half of the ladder this year.

A gritty 18-6 Charity Shield win over St George Illawarra completed a trouble-free pre-season, but they're not getting carried away with their form considering they beat the Dragons in the same clash last year but failed miserably when the season kicked off.

"We have still got plenty of stuff we need to work on," said captain Roy Asotasi.

"Last year we won both trials and we thought we were better than what we were.

"We have learnt a lesson there and have just got to improve on (our pre-season)."

While defence was a key problem area last year, the Bunnies have bolstered their attacking stocks considerably in 2009 with ex-Queensland fullback Rhys Wesser (Penrith) and reigning Dally M winger of the year Colin Best (Canberra) added to the backline.

Both are noted tryscorers and will benefit from a halves combination of Chris Sandow and John Sutton that will only get better with time.

Best said the Rabbitohs were quietly optimistic about 2009 and had taken no notice of the punters or NRL skippers who didn't give them a chance of glory this year.

Having come from Canberra where the Raiders were wooden spoon fancies last year but shocked the NRL world to finish sixth, Best knows how much easier life can be without the burden of expectation.

"I like flying under the radar and hopefully we stay positive and not put too much pressure on ourselves," said Best.

"There is obviously expectation from our fans but the expectation is warranted with this team I reckon.

"We've all been around long enough to not worry about any negative press or anything like that.

"We just need to take it each week and play quality football.

"We are just working for each other and doing all those one per centers.

"This is definitely a club that is on the rise and all the right things are happening off the field and it's up to us to do all the right things on the field."

Souths open their year against fierce rivals the Sydney Roosters at the SFS and Best said it was "critical" they set the tone for their season from the opening whistle.

With three of their first five games against sides who missed the top eight last year, Souths know they can't afford another early season slumber.

"We have to start the season well and obviously we don't want to go down to the depths of last year where they lost all those games," he said.

"It is definitely something we're going out there to start positive and have a winning start to the season."

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