‘Going to be a part of a deep review’: Rabbitohs searching for answers after historic collapse to the season

They were the best team in the competition heading into the Origin period, but the Rabbitohs won’t play finals footy after one of the most stunning collapses in premiership history.

The Rabbitohs face some intense scrutiny after they missed the finals despite leading the competition after 11 rounds. Picture; Matt King/Getty Images

A devastated Jason Demetriou says the Rabbitohs will use their spectacular collapse as motivation next year after South Sydney was officially ruled out of finals contention following a 26-12 loss at home to the Roosters.

The Rabbitohs are the first team in the NRL era to lead the competition after 11 rounds but not make the top eight, with the Bunnies winning just four of their final 13 matches as their season spiralled out of control on and off the field.

Friday night’s loss capped a horror fortnight in which club legend Sam Burgess was let go as an assistant coach after it came out that he reportedly thought that Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker received preferential treatment.

The suspended Latrell Mitchell sat in the stands as his side missed out on the finals. Picture; Matt King/Getty Images

Things only got uglier when a leaked text message from Rod Churchill to chairman Nick Pappas got out in the media where he savaged Mitchell and called him a “cancer” on the club, as well as several other vile insults.

Mitchell missed the game because of suspension while replacement fullback Blake Taaffe suffered a head knock in the first half, but he was in the crowd to lend his support after a difficult few weeks.

“It’s disappointing because as a club we haven’t had that the last few years,” Demetriou said.

“We’re a pretty tight ship. Like any club we work on our things together and inside the four walls so it’s disappointing that things are getting out or are being said. A lot of it isn’t true but at the end of the day we can’t change it.

“It’s a small part of probably a lot of little things that have added to where we are at.”

Plenty of people predicted the Rabbitohs to go all the way given they’d made five-straight preliminary finals and boasted a stacked roster with some of the best attacking weapons in the world.

Instead, they’re going to have to work out just what went wrong as their attack and defence fell apart over the Origin period and never recovered.

A heartbroken Jason Demetriou is still trying to work out what went wrong in 2023. Picture; Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“It’s hard, I’m not going to lie,” Demetriou said.

“It’s going to be a part of a deep review, for sure.

“I’ve got to hold my hands up there. I’m the head coach, it’s on me to make sure we’re better (and) we’re not falling like we were.

“I could sit here and make excuses, but it hurts. It’s a tough lesson to learn but I’ll learn it.

“I’ve got to have a deep look at how I handled that situation, that mid-part especially through the Origin period and how we came out of it.

“Like I said it hurts now and there’s tough lessons but I’ll learn it.”

The Rabbitohs were flying high earlier in the year following some big wins, including this one over the Panthers. Picture; Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Skipper Cam Murray tried his guts out on Friday and scored one of their two tries, but he was shattered when trying to explain what happened to his side this year after showing so much early promise.

“It’s hard to put your finger on where it went wrong,” he said.

“We’ll just make sure we remember how much this hurts.

“We’ll do our review and work out where we need to get better. Just use this as motivation to never feel this feeling again.”

Originally published as ‘Going to be a part of a deep review’: Rabbitohs searching for answers after historic collapse to the season