Separating fact from fiction in the South Sydney Rabbitohs rumour mill
Have you heard about the Jack Wighton backflip? Or the text message containing a host of salacious accusations? We separate fact from fiction in the South Sydney rumour mill.
If you had a dollar for every rumour doing the rounds about South Sydney at the moment, you would give co-owners Russell Crowe and Mike Cannon-Brookes a shake in the money stakes.
They’re flowing thick and fast out of Redfern. Sorry, Heffron Park. An unrelenting barrage of bile, much of which is well wide of the mark.
The latest claims are all contained within a text message that alleges a host of salacious innuendo surrounding the Pride of the League. It is gripping stuff. Only one problem - much of it is seemingly incorrect.
Among the suggestions was that Latrell Mitchell, the club’s highest paid player, flew to Perth recently on a separate plane to the rest of his teammates because of the tensions within the squad.
The claim was of course wrong. Mitchell was on the plane with his teammates but it has spread like wildfire nonetheless. This is the problem when clubs are in the midst of a crisis.
A week or so ago there were claims that Jack Wighton was on the verge of backflipping on his decision to join Souths next year. Again, it appears to be utter baloney.
Rumour becomes fact. Even though most of it is rubbish, it has a way of finding its way into the hands of the media and sometimes into the public domain.
Sometimes the media themselves are responsible. Earlier this year, this columnist fell into the trap of suggesting there was drama at the Sydney Roosters.
Perhaps there was at the time, but it clearly wasn’t enough to derail them completely. Funnily enough, they are now the side threatening to end South Sydney’s premiership dream.
That is, if the Rabbitohs don’t do it themselves over the next week or so as Jason Demetriou stares down one of the most significant challenges of his nascent head coaching career.
The club has already severed ties with assistant coach and club legend Sam Burgess, but Demetriou must find a way to galvanise a group that many believe is in the grips of a civil war.
Burgess clearly decided to leave rather than watch the club continue to wither on his watch. His concerns have been well documented, discipline and double standards the most significant. He made his feelings known and they clearly didn’t marry with what others believed. To Burgess’’ credit, he walked away rather than temper his own expectations. The club has lost a legend but eliminated plenty of tension.
Souths, a club that has been a picture of stability for years thanks in part to the ownership of Oscar-winning actor Crowe and billionaire Cannon-Brookes, clearly have some issues that need to be sorted and the clock is ticking.
They trained on Wednesday with a flotilla of media prowling their training base. They play the Roosters in just over a week with their season likely to be on the line and their every move under the microscope.
The Roosters will be salivating, not just at the prospect of keeping alive their own finals hopes, but driven in part by the dream of ending the season of their bitter enemy. There is no love lost between the two clubs.
If Demetriou is facing one of the most testing times of his coaching career, Roosters coach Trent Robinson will have it easy. His players won’t need any extra motivation.
The thought of sticking the knife into the wounded Rabbitohs will do them just fine.
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