Jason Demetriou stands firm after South Sydney’s bloodbath defeat
South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou finds himself on the hottest of hot seats, but remains adamant he’s the man for the job.
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South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou finds himself on the hottest of hot seats, but remains adamant he’s the man for the job.
Demetriou’s men were blown off the park on Friday night as the Sydney Roosters dominated the struggling club with a 48-6 victory.
The Roosters’ win was their second-biggest victory ever over South Sydney in a rivalry that spans 116 years.
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The loss slumps them to last place on the ladder for the first time in 14 years and puts them squarely behind the eight-ball in their bid to play finals in 2024.
They’ve now lost 12 of their past 16 games and are riding a five-game losing streak dating back to last season, with pressure mounting on the third-year coach.
“It’s disappointing, it hurts, it’s probably the lowest point of my career right now but I know how we get out of it. We’ll fight and fight together,” Demetriou said.
“I’ve got a lot of trust in this group, they’re a great group, they care about each other and that’s probably our biggest problem at the moment, we don’t want to be in this position but we have to accept our reality and fight our way out of it. I know this group and I know they’ll get out of it.
“The only way to quieten down (the noise) is to get laser focus, ruthless with our preparation and go after the performance next week and each week if we can do that, we’ll improve and get it off our back and get our season running again.
“It’s just where we’re at, at the moment, the monkey is on our back and you can see that in our resolve at times and there is some effort there but it’s put into the wrong places.
“I told the players there is only one way out and that’s staying together and fighting and getting back on the horse.
“It’s a matter of just getting that first win. We’ve got to be more resilient to get that two points, nobody is going to give it to us.
“I’m extremely confident (I can turn it around), that’s my job, it’s on me to make sure we’re fighting hard and ready to play on Good Friday.”
The under fire coach was grilled as to why he believes he’s the right man to lead the club out of the dark passage they find themselves in.
“I’ve been with this group for a long time, I understand the group and I’m confident we’re on the same page and working together, we’ve just got to turn it around and I’ve got no doubt I’m the man who can do that,” he said.
“But ultimately what I sit here and say makes no difference to what people are going to say, the only thing that’s going to make a difference is results.”
Demetriou came under heavy fire after dropping halfback Lachlan Ilias following their second straight loss and then electing to bench hooker Damien Cook.
Despite the bombshell axings not giving his charges a spark, the coach wouldn’t commit to more changes or if Ilias would return to the line-up.
“I don’t think (more changes) is necessarily the answer, we brought Deano in who I thought did a pretty good job for us and he’ll be better for the run,” he said,
“I don’t know (if Ilias returns next week), we’ll have to watch the tape.”
Originally published as Jason Demetriou stands firm after South Sydney’s bloodbath defeat
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