South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sam Burgess officially part ways

Sam Burgess’ time at the South Sydney Rabbitohs has come to an end with the club legend walking out the door on Wednesday morning.

Russell Crowe given the final vote.

Sam Burgess’ time at the South Sydney Rabbitohs has come to an end.

The club legend walked out the door on Wednesday morning following a meeting with club powerbrokers.

Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Burgess left the club’s offices at 9am where he was picked up by his partner, stating on his way out “I wish the boys all the well,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald’s Michael Chammas.

The club released a statement shortly after confirming the two parties had officially parted ways.

“The South Sydney Rabbitohs thank Sam for his valuable contribution to the club as assistant coach and join with all Rabbitohs Members and supporters in wishing him every success at Warrington,” Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said.

“We also wish him and partner Lucy all the best with the birth of their child in the coming weeks.”

Sam Burgess said: “I’ve made the decision to step away from South Sydney, given the circumstances.

“My immediate focus is the upcoming birth of our baby and preparing for my new role at Warrington.”

The news first came to light on Tuesday with the club reportedly set to swing the axe at Burgess and fellow asssistant coach John Morris.

Morris was however spotted out on the field as the team went through training on Wednesday morning.

Burgess walked out the door. Picture: Julian Andrews

While the axe appeared set to fall on Tuesday night, the club consulted with co-owner Russell Crowe before a final decision on the future of the duo was locked in, The Daily Telegraph reported.

It comes on the back of the pair reportedly raising concerns that coach Jason Demetriou was giving preferential treatment to stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker and not coming down on them hard enough.

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.

Burgess is set to join UK Super League club Warrington as their head coach for next season while Morris has been linked with a move to join Benji Marshall at the Wests Tigers in 2024.

It comes on the heels of Mitchell causing a major stir after video of him at a concert went viral over the past week.

Mitchell is under attack as his team’s finals chances hang by a thread in the wake of 29-10 defeat against Newcastle last weekend.

The result – and Mitchell’s lacklustre performance in the game – has some fans criticising the 26-year-old for shotgunning a beer onstage at Luke Combs’ Sydney concert last Wednesday.

Mitchell and UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa were invited to share a drink with Combs in front of thousands of fans at Qudos Bank Arena and it’s now being seen by some as a poor look given Souths’ efforts against the Knights.

Latrell Mitchell and Tai Tuivasa shotgun a beer with Luke Combs at the American country singer's concert at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night.

Speaking on NRL 360, News Corp’s Paul Crawley called it a “bombshell” move by the Rabbitohs and believes it’s a “line in the sand moment” for Demetriou that could have major ramifications.

“It’s a bombshell moment,” Crawley said.

“Sam Burgess is royalty at South Sydney, John Morris is an assistant coach. I can understand it if they’re on a different page to Jason Demetriou why there has to be a change, 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 it could be potentially fatal because of who Sam Burgess is. He has total respect from the players, he has respect within the club at every level.

“If you’ve pushed him aside and South Sydney go on to lose to the Roosters and miss out on finals, next year he’ll be coaching for his future.”

Rugby league legend Gorden Tallis questioned the timing of the decision, saying it was “confusing,” but Riccio stressed the importance of having the entire coaching staff on the same page.

“We’ve all been around the game long enough to understand how important harmony at the coaching staff level is,” Riccio said.

“If you’re talking about still making finals, you can’t do that when there isn’t harmony in the elite level of your coaching staff.”