 Souths finished the regular season as minor premiers on 37 points with 18 wins and a draw, losing only three games along the way.However, come finals time, they lost a classic semi-final to the Balmain Tigers and a week later the Canberra Raiders powered home to end Souths' hopes of making their first grand final appearance since 1971.Apart from Harrington himself, Souths' stars during this period included forwards Michael Andrews, David Boyle, Les Davidson and Ian Roberts, hooker and captain Mario Fenech, halfback Craig Coleman and mercurial five-eighth Phil Blake.