Paul Kent: Wayne Bennett’s secret grandstand meetings that left Jason Demetriou in the dark

While Jason Demetriou was busy running training sessions, he was missing clandestine get-togethers deliberately held away from Rabbitohs players that may still be affecting the coach, PAUL KENT writes.

Jason Demetriou.

The heart of the confusion at South Sydney might be traced several years back when Wayne Bennett did all he could to confuse the bright young coach by his side, Jason Demetriou, in a way that was not intentionally done, but what might have been permanently.

Bennett was coaching the Rabbitohs at Redfern Oval and several times he was forced to pause training and call the leadership group into a quick meeting under the grandstand.

It seems nothing unusual on first look. Coaches are forever recalibrating and running an idea past their more senior men.

This little fable comes with a twist, though.

It came across this desk soon after Bennett was done coaching at Souths, when Demetriou first took over, and the usual conversation was going around about whether Demetriou had it in him to get the job done.

Most were of the opinion Demetriou was the best young coach out there and Souths had got their man. He certainly does know his footy.

One of those in the meeting, though, whose name has been triple sealed and put away in a fireproof safe, doubted Demetriou would work at Souths.

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou at training on Tuesday. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

LESSONS UNDER THE GRAND STAND

The opinion was based on what he saw in those meetings under the grandstand and, more to the point, what Demetriou didn’t see while he was still out on the field running the team through drills.

The prediction didn’t quite sound fanciful at the time, even if it did seem bit of a stretch.

But now, though …

Bennett halted training and called the leadership group into a meeting.

Once in the changerooms, Bennett let loose.

He is a quiet man, mostly, but his pedigree can be traced back to his hiring as an instructor at the Queensland Police Academy which, some say, had as much influence on his coaching as anything else he ever learned in his life.

Mostly, he learned to administer authority. To manage men, and to train groups of these young with a cuddle or a kick in the bum, depending what they needed.

It is a delicate art.

Sometimes it was delivered through his own behaviour, like a deliberate silence. Other times with those dismissive answers made famous at press conferences, or a short sharp comment causing small lacerations that quickly restores order to a restless crowd.

And occasionally, if warranted, a full-blown spray.

Wayne Bennett takes aside Latrell Mitchell. Picture: Dylan Robinson

HOLDING ‘TRELL, CODY TO ACCOUNT

More than anything, this is why Bennett has long been regarded as the greatest man manager in the game. A playbook full of Xs and Os run second on his list of priorities.

An ability to read a player or situation and give it what the moment properly needs, that’s what matters.

And so, to finish the story, what would happen in these quick meetings under the grandstand is Latrell Mitchell or Cody Walker or whoever else it was, although usually them, would be quickly pulled into line about their tardy performance or poor attitude on the training paddock.

This is part of what Sam Burgess was giving a nod to when he called out Demetriou last year for failing standards around the playmakers Mitchell and Walker.

Burgess was in those meetings, too, and saw how Bennett made his two star playmakers accountable for their actions.

DEMETRIOU MISSES THE POINT

Here was the concern, though.

While Bennett was delivering the stern words Demetriou was out on the paddock running the rest of the squad through their drills, keeping them moving.

He rarely, if ever, witnessed what happened in those impromptu leadership meetings.

More of a worry, once they were all back on the paddock Bennett would joke and jolly along with Mitchell and Walker, laughing with them and cuddling them and generally making them feel loved in front of the group.

He was not about putting them on show, so the conversations stayed in front of the team leaders.

Those on the field did not witness what had happened under the grandstand.

Demetriou and Bennett together in 2020. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

JOHNSTON MAKES A STAND

Honesty and accountability are the latest buzz words in the NRL. It’s the natural extension to this fabled culture all the young coaches try to gravitate towards.

It’s what Alex Johnston called out last week when the players were asked to nominate their Jason Clark Award, announced weekly for giving that extra effort, and the players pushed for Isaiah Tass’s try-saver on Josh Addo-Carr.

But for reasons nobody understood Demetriou added Mitchell’s name.

Mitchell came in late and fouled Addo-Carr, which was the extent of his involvement, and yet here he was being praised.

It’s assumed Demetriou added Mitchell’s name in some misguided idea he would keep his star player happy and keep the camp happy, yet the other players at Souths, led by Johnston, saw it for what it was and called it out.

By trying to please Mitchell, Demetriou might have inadvertently revealed what he missed in those leadership meetings under the grandstand when the players were falling behind on team standards and Bennett was pulling them up on it.

Damien Cook has been dropped. Picture: David Swift

COACH MAKES A BIG CALL

Demetriou has dropped Damien Cook for Saturday’s game against Cronulla and got a break with Mitchell’s suspension in a bid to shake up the team.

For some years now Souths have pandered to the likes of Mitchell, creating excuses around him while forgiving his behaviours.

Probably for the first time in his coaching career Demetriou is encountering a personality at the club bigger than him as head coach, which might explain his reluctance to discipline his star player, the highest paid and most influential player at the club.

On Tuesday, Mitchell apologised to his teammates, the first good sign in months.

As they say, cuddle them too tight and they die in your arms.