Real reason behind South Sydney Rabbitohs’ crisis exposed

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have gone from being an NRL powerhouse to a bottom feeder and it can all be traced back to one man.

COMMENT

Whether it’s the mounting losses, poor fifth tackle options or even just the club’s expulsion in 1999, many blame South Sydney’s problems solely on Latrell Mitchell.

In fact, some even believe the Rabbits had the game in the bag against the Broncos on Friday night until he stupidly went and cussed on the wireless at full time.

Watch every game of every round this NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

But while Mitchell isn’t entirely immune from accountability for the team’s malaise, maybe it’s time the critics shook their fists at a different cloud?

Instead of laying the blame for everything at the feet of the mercurial fullback, what about Jason Demetriou?

You’d go a long way to find a more thorough resume than that of the Rabbitohs’ coach, but it’s become inescapable he’s the one jimmying the joystick throughout this festy slump.

After qualifying for the preliminary final in his debut season before last year surging to the top of the ladder after round 11, for some reason his team has been buffering ever since.

This has seen Demetriou finally unlock the premium user experience of first grade coaching with an arid run of 11 losses in 15 games, in this time producing a series of quips and selections bizarre enough to potentially land him the Blues job.

Demetriou has escaped the scrutiny. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Latrell cops all the heavy attention. Pic by Max Mason-Hubers

In fact, the most offensive swear word uttered on Friday wasn’t from Latrell, it was the coach describing his side’s defence – that which has leaked 64 points in two rounds – as “outstanding”.

In fairness, he did also describe the mournful loss as a “horror show”, which was pretty kind considering an error-strewn first half that was so lacking in direction it sent half the fanbase to Christianity.

Sure, he’s not the first rookie coach to experience the graveyard spiral, but can he stop the rot?

Barring a miraculous team reshuffle or spur in attitude from his latent charges, sadly all signs for the struggling coach point to one grave outcome.

With Souths no longer the imposing side that would routinely lose preliminary finals, it’s time to consider if Demetriou has gone The Full Steve Price and reached his expiry date as a Proxy Wayne Bennett.

Put simply, unless Jack Wighton is a saviour or the club just keeps sacking assistants until Lachlan Ilias stops kicking the ball out on the full, it appears Demetriou could be the latest of Bennett’s fruitless understudies.

Not there’s any shame in this though after all, who amongst us has followed Bennett’s mantra and actually returned seven premierships and three bestsellers?

That seat is getting warmer, isn’t it Jason. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Nope, Demetriou isn’t the first guy to wilt in the great man’s vapour trail … just ask Price, Ivan Henjak and Anthony Seibold, all good right-hand men tasked with continuing his legacy only to find themselves demoted to working for carpet salesmen and Manly.

Demetriou is following a similar path, and with the Roosters, Bulldogs, Warriors and Sharks on the horizon beckoning a potential 1-6 start to 2024, he could be measuring up shagpile before we know it.

Unless he’s prepared to exit his comfort zone and make some ballsy calls.

Firstly, he needs to make the difficult decision to drop Ilias, which will be harder than it sounds considering he once endorsed his rookie halfback to eventually outshine the career of Adam Reynolds, and nobody likes to backtrack in this cruel world of receipts.

It’s time to let Ilias go. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP

Secondly, threaten Mitchell with either a move to the centres or a swear jar, and try to avoid the SOS to play Wighton at five-eighth because the last time he played there for Canberra he was also banished to the centres.

Then pump more minutes in to Tallis Duncan and Jacob Gagai, quit the cute positional changes and never put Cam Murray in the second row again unless it’s the team Hiace.

Follow this by praying for miracle recoveries for Jai Arrow and Campbell Graham, and maybe – just maybe – this festering boil might only turn out to be a cheese pimple.

Luckily for Demetriou, he was recently extended until 2026 and Souths are a stable, well-run organisation that doesn’t jump at shadows.

Unless of course, that shadow is Bennett, who conveniently is off-contract at the end of the season and still has a building pass.

– Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Originally published as Real reason behind South Sydney Rabbitohs’ crisis exposed