LeagueNews.co | Jason Patrick
In a devastating turn of events, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have been hit with an injury crisis that has left head coach Jason Demetriou feeling like he's been handed a cruel twist of fate by the rugby league gods.
After a tumultuous week of speculation about Demetriou's future, the Rabbitohs suffered their fifth loss in six games, falling to the Cronulla Sharks 34-22.
It was a tough defeat for Souths, who seem to be stuck at the bottom of the NRL ladder like a ship without a captain.
The real pain, however, came in the form of a brutal first half that saw the Rabbitohs decimated by injuries.
With players dropping like flies, South Sydney found themselves with just one player left on the bench by halftime.
Tyrone Munro broke his collarbone, Tevita Tatola was hobbling around in a moon boot after a syndesmosis injury, and debutant fullback Jye Gray was forced to undergo a HIA.
It's a situation that any coach would dread, a nightmare scenario that could only be described as a perfect storm of misfortune.
Despite the valiant effort and fighting spirit shown by the Rabbitohs, they couldn't overcome the injury disaster that had befallen them.
In the tough world of rugby league, where only the strongest survive, the Rabbitohs will need to dig deep and find a way to bounce back from this setback.
But as any seasoned fan knows, in sport, as in life, sometimes things just don't go your way.