Rabbitohs legend John Sutton relishing chance to mentor Rabbitohs SG Ball stars

John Sutton admits he didn’t ‘think about life after football’, but a chance to help put the polish on the next generation of Souths talent is certainly helping with the transition.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 27: John Sutton of the Rabbitohs is given a guard of honour by his team mates as he walks from the field with his children following the NRL Preliminary Final match between the Canberra Raiders and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at GIO Stadium on September 27, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Former South Sydney captain John Sutton has revealed that life after rugby league has been “tough” but opportunities to help coach the Rabbitohs’ NRL and SG Ball sides helped with the transition.

“When I was playing, all I ever thought about was just playing. I didn’t think much about (life) after football,” Sutton said.

“(At first) I didn’t want to do the coaching with the young fellas, because I didn’t have much experience, but I’m glad I’ve done it now, it’s going to help me with my coaching. I don’t know if I’m going to be a coach in the future, but I’m really enjoying what I’m doing now with the NRL and the (SG) Ball (under 19s).

“It’s been a bit of a tough time, I‘ve obviously been out of the game just over a year, I’m still trying to find my feet… it’s all new to me, but I’m enjoying every bit of it” Sutton said.

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John Sutton with SG Ball players Tallis Duncan and Dion Teaupa.

Training a big and boisterous squad of teenagers is hard work — even for a bloke with 336 NRL games under his belt.

But Sutton hasn’t looked back since putting his hand up to assistant coach the Rabbitohs’ SG Ball side in 2021.

“The football side is only one part, you’ve also got to be able to connect with them away from footy,” Sutton said.

“Around this age, a lot of things can happen with girlfriends or fighting or alcohol. I’m just trying to make sure I can push them in the right direction with whatever they want to do, whether it’s football or away from football.

“I just want to help make them the best young men they can be. That’s my real goal, turn them into good young men. If I can do that away from footy, that will help them with footy on field.”

John Sutton retired after the 2019 season.

So, how did the boys react when Sutton — NRL premiership winner, former club captain and the Bunnies’ most capped first grade player in history — rocked up at training?

“They were all a little bit shy around me when I first started coaching them. But as they got to know me, they probably took it for granted,” Sutton said.

“One day, they were fart-arsing around at training and I had to blow up at them. I don‘t really like doing that stuff, but I felt it was needed. Ever since then they’ve responded really well and have been training the house down.”

The 36-year-old expects South Sydney to field a strong SG Ball team this year with a couple of kids in particular impressing Sutton.

“Terrell Kalokalo, he’s a centre/fullback, he’s been training with first grade, he looks good. I’ve been at NRL training, too, and I’ve been really impressed by him,” Sutton said.

“There’s front rower, Davvy Moale, he’s only 17 still, he’s had a good pre-season so far with the first grade.

“There’s also a few kids who have trained with Jersey Flegg (under 21s), about five of them, they’ll also come back into the Ball side.”

Young prop Davvy Moale has earned rave reviews. Picture: Lars Roy.

Ultimately, Sutton said he was driven to give back to South Sydney’s junior representative system that helped launch his own career.

“You’re always striving to win the competition but with this age group it’s all about development and I hope I can develop them into the best players they can be,” Sutton said.

“We’re going back about 20 years now, but I had close mates in all those teams, you get to meet kids from other places that come to Souths, the camaraderie ... it helped me grow a little, I was a pretty shy and nervous kid.

“Being a Souths junior I’ve never wanted to play for another team, it’s been awesome for me and I’m just trying to give back as much as I can.”

NSWRL’s junior representative competitions - SG Ball Cup (under 19s), Laurie Daley Cup (under 18s), Harold Matthews Cup (under 17s), Andrew Johns Cup (under 16s) and Tarsha Gale Cup (under 19s) - kick off across the state on Saturday, February 6.

The SG Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup will feature 15 teams and be played over nine rounds with the grand finals scheduled for the weekend of 24 April.