He may have played the house down when given a rare start against South Sydney, but Manly prop Adam Cuthbertson expects to find himself back on the bench for the preliminary final.

The Sea Eagles ran over the top of the Bunnies in recording a 30-6 win at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night, Cuthbertson filling in admirably for injured Test front rower Brent Kite.

The win earned the Sea Eagles a week off and a berth in the grand final qualifier against the winner of Sunday's North Queensland-New Zealand Warriors semi-final clash in Townsville.

Kite is expected to be available for that match after being struck down by a adductor injury following the win over the Dragons in the final round of the regular season, Cuthbertson more than happy to take up his more accustomed role off the bench.

"I wanted to impact in a different way (than from the bench) by just lifting the boys from the front so they could throw the ball around," Cuthbertson said.

"It was a strange feeling (starting), I kept pinching myself before the game thinking is this really happening, is this really happening?

"We've got Brent Kite coming back and he's our No.1 starting prop and he gives us good go-forward.

"I had a job (on Saturday night) in trying to fill his big shoes so I just tried my best to do so.

"I knew I had to step up. I couldn't hold out and wait for things to happen, I knew I had to make things happen myself and have a big impact from the start there."

While Kite is expected to return, winger Chris Hicks is a doubtful starter due to an ankle injury.

For the Rabbitohs, season 2007 will go down as a successful one despite the loss.

The Bunnies rose from wooden spooners to finalists with co-captain Roy Asotasi - who would have to go down as the buy of the year - claiming his side always thought the finals were a realistic goal.

"We believed in each other right from the start, everything was new - new signings, new structure at the club and coaching," Asotasi said.

"It was amazing how we all got along so well in such a short span of time.

"In the end we showed the way we played throughout the entire season that we stuck together."

Asotasi and the likes of David Kidwell, Jeremy Smith and Isaac Luke will now turn their attention to international football, the quartet all in the running for a berth in the New Zealand side for next month's Test against Australia.

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