NRL 2022: Jason Demetriou on Souths chances in 2022 and his failed bid to coach Brisbane
Snubbed by Brisbane, Jason Demetriou is set to make his first grade coaching debut against the Broncos and has shot down detractors forecasting a South Sydney downfall.
Jason Demetriou insists he will not fail in the South Sydney hotseat as the rookie NRL coach revealed Wayne Bennett would remain in his corner in his quest to bring premiership glory back to Redfern.
Demetriou officially launches his NRL coaching career in Friday night’s Suncorp blockbuster against the Broncos acutely aware he is tasked with rugby league’s equivalent of batting after Bradman _ succeeding super coach Bennett.
There is a view Souths are in danger of crashing out of the top four this season, with the reigning grand finalists having lost big guns Adam Reynolds, Benji Marshall, Jaydn Su’A and Benji Marshall, not to mention Bennett.
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But after a five-year apprenticeship under Bennett, Demetriou scoffed at suggestions the Bunnies are on the slide, saying the super coach will remain a trusted confidant in his bid to deliver a 22nd premiership.
“I’m confident I can do the job,” said Demetriou, Bennett’s assistant for the past three years at Redfern.
“I’m comfortable in Wayne’s shadow to be honest. I am actually conscious of it. I don’t feel the need to get out of Wayne’s shadow. I spent five years under Wayne and I learnt a hell of a lot and I will use that knowledge.
“I also feel I brought a lot to the table under Wayne. The players understand that and are comfortable with it. I won’t be coming out trying to prove anything to anyone. I’m happy to be taking the job after such a successful and well-respected coach in Wayne.
“I’m not turning up for round one thinking anything different but finals. That’s why I coach.
“You want to compete against the best and you want to challenge yourself and beat the best.
“I am confident in this squad. We have some good kids coming through and I am going to back them. Like any season, we have to start the year off from scratch and earn the right to get that confidence.
“You just don’t get confidence, it’s earned and that’s what we will be looking to do in round one against the Broncos.”
Demetriou’s resume oozes success. The 46-year-old has won four trophies in the second tier, and was an assistant to Paul Green when the Cowboys won the NRL premiership in 2015, fuelling his belief he is equipped to fill the Bennett void.
But despite the super coach now living across the border in Queensland as he prepares to take charge of the Dolphins, the NRL’s 17th team, in 2023, Demetriou says he will seek the counsel of Bennett.
“I talk to Wayne now as much as I did when he was here,” he said.
“We’re still in touch. We send each other texts now and then and Wayne is someone I know who will be there if and when I need him to have a chat or a hot chocolate with.
“There’s definitely more pressure. I am more involved. The result lands on me. Even the major decisions, picking the team, talking to players who missed out, letting the guys know who we’re going to play ... you don’t do those things as an assistant.
“It’s not nice sometimes but I think it’s important you are honest with your players.”
Demetriou says Souths players will get clear instructions during his tenure.
“The thing I learnt most from Wayne was authenticity,” he said.
“We actually have a lot of similarities in how we see the game, but also how you interact with players.
“Ultimately, Wayne knew the buck stopped with him and the only way to do the job well was to be himself and that’s what he encouraged me to do and I will do that.
“I’m at a great club. I feel I’ve done my apprenticeship. I’ve got six years experience coaching open-age teams, I’ve had success in the lower tiers and I’ve been an NRL assistant coach at four different clubs and worked under some very good coaches. I’ve seen the ups and downs. I’m well placed.
“But at the end of the day, it’s all about the now and putting things into practice under the microscope ... under the blowtorch of the NRL.”
REVEALED: THE BOARD SPLIT THAT COST BRONCOS DEMETRIOU
By Peter Badel and Brent Read
Brisbane bosses insist they have no regrets over sacking Jason Demetriou following explosive revelations a boardroom faction pushed for the rookie to coach the Broncos ahead of Anthony Seibold and Kevin Walters.
Brisbane’s Sliding Doors moment arrives on Friday night when Demetriou, in his debut as South Sydney coach, looks to gatecrash Walters’ Broncos party in the round 1 blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
The Demetriou-Walters narrative is enthralling. They were both assistants to former Broncos mentor Wayne Bennett – and both were among the four men interviewed for one of the most prestigious jobs in Australian sport following the super coach’s shock exit in December 2018.
The quartet were Demetriou, Walters, Seibold and Michael Maguire, now coach of the Wests Tigers.
Seibold ultimately won the race to succeed Bennett, but it can be revealed his appointment was not so clear cut, with Demetriou having high-level support at the time to ascend to the Broncos hot seat.
As part of Bennett’s pitch to extend his career at Red Hill, the eight-time premiership winner tabled a blueprint to the board that would see him coach Brisbane until 2020, before handing the reins to Demetriou for the 2021 season.
But off a recommendation from then CEO Paul White, the Broncos board went in a different direction, handing Seibold a $3 million, five-year deal, ostensibly triggering the departure of Demetriou, who was thrown a lifeline by Bennett at South Sydney.
It is understood at least one Brisbane board member voted for Demetriou to take charge of the Broncos.
Demetriou’s plans for the Broncos, detailed in his job interview, was described as “outstanding”.
Now ‘JD’ is back to haunt a Broncos club still in a rebuilding phase under Walters following the grim Seibold tenure that delivered the club’s first wooden spoon.
Brisbane chairman Karl Morris lauded Demetriou’s contribution to the club - he was seen at Red Hill as the tactical brains behind Bennett’s front-man aura - but insists the Broncos have stabilised under Walters.
“I was really impressed with Jason at the Broncos and I am really pleased he has been able to find himself a head coaching role in the NRL,” Morris said.
“He was certainly one of several candidates we looked at to replace Wayne.
“I was always very impressed with Jason’s temperament, so I’m not surprised he has gone on to become a head coach at South Sydney.
“I wish Jason all the best.”
Asked if he regrets losing Demetriou to Souths, Morris said: “No. We made the decision we did at the time (to appoint Seibold), but there’s no issue with Jason.
“It just so happens his debut as South Sydney coach is against us this week, but we’re very happy with how we’re tracking under Kevin Walters.”
During his stint at the Broncos, Demetriou so relished the prospect of beating Seibold’s Rabbitohs in 2018 he personally asked Bennett if he could formulate game plans on the Bunnies.
The Broncos beat Souths in both games that year, 24-20 and 38-18. The latter loss prompted Seibold to go into meltdown, blasting media speculation he was set to sign with the Broncos.
Now, with his full focus on the Rabbitohs job, Demetriou is philosophical about missing out on the Broncos post.
“To be honest, I never truly considered myself in the mix for the Broncos job,” he said.
“It was a good process to go through and get some interview experience, but I never thought I would get the job.
“It’s a question for other people.”
With Demetriou unemployed just before Christmas in 2018, Bennett saved his coaching career with an offer to join him at Redfern.
The move south has paid dividends, with Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly saying it was clear from early on that Demetriou had the skill set to succeed as a head coach.
“When we were able to attract Wayne at the end of 2018 and then Jason came with him, it was clear right from the start that Jason was a really competent and credentialed coach, Wayne thought really highly of him and he impressed everyone at the club,” Solly said.
“He was very respectful of Wayne’s tenure as head coach and never ever in that period did he try to impose himself as head coach.
“Everything we have seen from him since he became head coach has been really impressive.
“Jason has had success in pretty much every lower grade he has coached whether it be in England or with the Northern Pride.
“That gives us confidence.”
Solly had no doubt the Broncos blockbuster would carry extra significance for Demetriou.
“It will mean a lot to him on lots of different fronts,” he said.
“It is his first game as a full-time head coach, coaching one of the great clubs in the game in a city that he spent a lot of time in against a club he has a lot of respect for.
“It will be a huge occasion for Jason.”
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