‘Sick of making the same justifications and excuses’: Cameron Murray opens up on horror 2024 season

A candid Cameron Murray has revealed just how difficult last year’s horror campaign was for him and Souths.

Souths skipper Cameron Murray has opened up on the “dark moments” at the club over the past 18 months and has vowed to repay the loyalty shown by fans who had to listen to him “make the same justifications and excuses” after games last year without much improvement.

It’s incredibly raw honesty from a man who bleeds red and green and is desperate to turn things around after a stunning collapse from a team who led the league after 11 rounds in 2023 but missed the finals that year.

Things only got worse, with the Rabbitohs managing just one victory through 11 rounds last year, with coach Jason Demetriou already sacked by that point.

A shocking injury toll, a couple of key suspensions and the turmoil around their coach’s departure led to things spiralling before Souths mounted a mini surge thanks to Latrell Mitchell before a foot injury ended his campaign.

Having hundreds of thousands of eyeballs on you during games was hard enough, but the truly tough examination came after that when Murray was forced to answer the same questions each week about the team’s struggles, Mitchell’s availability and if there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Cameron Murray found it very difficult having to address media last year when the club was struggling. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“Everyone hates losing, so to sit there and answer the same questions every week (was hard),” Murray told the NewsWire after he endured a rough season where he had a career-low winning percentage of 21.43 from his 14 games.

“But you also get sick of making the same justifications and excuses without any results. It’s hard to talk to your fans and to tell everyone to keep the hope and keep supporting us like they always have if we keep dishing up the same results.

“It’s been a hard 18 months for everyone involved in the club, so we want to make sure that we’re repaying the loyalty and the commitment that the fans have always shown us through the good times and the bad with good results.

“That’s one of our big motivations this year. Another motivation is me not sitting in the press conference having to answer questions after a loss.”

Murray had his own injury issues last season and is battling a wrist concern that has him in doubt for round 1, with his young family providing some respite for the challenges he had to deal with in 2024.

Murray’s young family kept him grounded last season.

“They were good distractions,” he said.

“Nothing really makes (losing) OK, but my daughter and my partner definitely make it bearable.

“Coming home to them and spending some quality family time with them (was great), although there were probably some times when it’s hard for footy to not affect you away from training and the bright lights when the results are like that.

“But they were definitely my saving grace during some of those dark moments.”

Having guys like Campbell Graham and Junior Tatola back this season will help greatly, but there are two men who will ultimately dictate how Souths perform.

One is Mitchell, who has trained the proverbial house down and is tipped to have a huge year as the main man in attack.

“He’s doing everything off the field right, he’s committed and he’s a competitor when it comes to training,” Murray said.

“We’re all doing everything right to make sure that we’re building confidence and building that base that we need for what’s going to be a big season.”

Latrell Mitchell has impressed everyone at Souths during the pre-season. Picture: Rabbitohs Digital

The other is master coach Wayne Bennett, who returns to the club that he took to the grand final in 2021.

He has kept it simple in the pre-season, with defence and discipline the two key areas of concern after Souths had 12 players sin binned last year when they narrowly avoided the wooden spoon.

“He’s not much different at all. He’s pretty much the same,” the tireless lock said.

“He’s given us the same messaging, he’s got the same presence and it has the same impact, so he’s been really good.

“He’s really driving the fundamentals to be right because everyone knows that if you’re fit and you get the basics right, then you’ll go a long way to winning games.

“You definitely need that blueprint before you head into games.

“We probably had career-high errors and discipline issues last year which put our defence under the pump, and it was a snowball effect from there.”

Originally published as ‘Sick of making the same justifications and excuses’: Cameron Murray opens up on horror 2024 season