Rabbitohs set to sack Sam Burgess and John Morris in coaching ‘bombshell’

Whispers of unrest at South Sydney are reportedly set to explode after talk of the Rabbitohs to cut loose a pair of experienced coaches.

The Rabbitohs are set to make a massive call. Photo: Getty Images

South Sydney are reportedly set to swing the axe and sack assistant coaches Sam Burgess and John Morris just two weeks before the end of the regular season.

The Rabbitohs were on top of the ladder in round 11 but having claimed just four wins and eight losses — as well as two byes — in the past 14 weeks, the side is set for a winner-takes-all clash with the Roosters in round 27.

That eventuality will rely on the Roosters beating the Tigers in round 26, while the Cowboys can still be spoilers if they win both games as it would all come down to points differential.

But regardless, the Rabbitohs went from the penthouse to potentially scraping into the finals.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Burgess and Morris were concerned that coach Jason Demetriou was giving Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker preferential treatment.

The report says Rabbitohs powerbrokers had been in meetings all day to discuss the pair’s immediate future.

Speaking on Fox League’s NRL 360, David Riccio believed it would be decided later on Tuesday night whether Burgess and Morris would be moved on immediately.

Burgess and Demetriou at training. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Souths are in a pickle. Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images

However, he said it was up to the Souths board.

“It’s a bombshell moment — Sam Burgess is royalty at South Sydney,” Paul Crawley agreed. “John Morris is an assistant coach.

“I can understand why if they’re on a different page to Jason Demetriou why there has to be a change here, but if that’s the case, this is Jason Demetriou’s line in the sand moment.

“It’s a very brave move but I believe could be potentially fatal because of who Sam Burgess is.

“He has total respect from all the players, he has respect from within the club from Russell Crowe and at every level and if you’ve push him aside and they go on to lose to the Roosters next week and miss out on the finals, I’ll tell you, next year he’ll be coaching for his future.”

Braith Anasta said the Rabbitohs had been “terrible”, while Gorden Tallis questioned why they’d make the call with two games left in the regular season.

Riccio said the issue was “harmony at the coaching-staff level” and added the team couldn’t make it to the finals without said harmony.

He added that Demetriou had signed long term, while Burgess would be coaching Warrington in the UK Super League and Morris “won’t be there anyway next year”, having been linked with a move to the Tigers.

John Morris after he signed for the Rabbitohs. Photo: Instagram

It comes a day after Demetriou brushed off the rumours after the Rabbitohs’ rapid decline this season.

“We’re not winning footy games at the moment so the rumour mill is going overdrive,” Demetriou said on Monday.

“Latrell Mitchell was out for 12 weeks so if he was running the show during that time, I don’t know what the problem was there.

“They are two very influential players in a group, but they are part of a group. The only way to answer that stuff is to win footy games.

“At the moment there is lots of talk. That is because we are not winning.”

It’s been an explosive day for the club with Demetriou apologising to Jacob Host after liking a comment on Instagram slamming the forward.

It also comes after Mitchell was filed chugging a beer on stage with country singer Luke Combs last week.

Originally published as Rabbitohs set to sack Sam Burgess and John Morris in coaching ‘bombshell’