Demetriou 'prepared to move' for PNG expansion

Jason Demetriou is already working behind the scenes to ensure the Papua New Guinea franchise is an immediate success when the club enters the NRL in 2028. As coach of the national team and a highly respected personality in the game, Demetriou is the early favourite to be the face of the new club. Wide World of Sports has learned that Demetriou is poised to re-sign as coach of the Kumuls in a move that will strengthen his position in the island nation. And Demetriou - a meticulous planner - has already compiled a report on what needs to be done in pathways and junior development to ensure the club makes a flying start in the big league in 2028. "Jason is the perfect candidate for head coach and no one knows more about the game in PNG," Demetriou's manager Chris Orr told Wide World of Sports. "He already has an intimate knowledge of the players in the national team and a good relationship with them. "He has also done a report on what needs to be done in the Cyril Connell and Mal Meninga Cup teams to ensure the young players are properly prepared when the time comes. "He is committed to the game in PNG and prepared to move up there. "He knows there is a lot of work to be done but he is super invested in making the team successful."

Bunnies Great Tees Off

Craig Coleman is as South Sydney as they come - a man who bleeds red and green and has remained loyal to the club through good times and bad. So when Coleman gets on social media and gives the Rabbitohs both barrels, you know something is very wrong at Heffron. Here's what Coleman had to say on Facebook after Souths fell to yet another embarrassing loss, this time against the Warriors at home last weekend. "What about the employees of my club who re-signed the coach and the majority of the top 30 squad on multiple-year deals, they just fly under the radar yet again (and pissed Adam Reynolds off out of the club) as they only sign over 30-year-olds to one-year deals ???? And had no halfback replacement only an experiment that has failed miserably, surely they need to be held to account not only the coach !!!!," he wrote. Clearly 'Tugger' believes heads should roll - and not just coach Jason Demetriou's.

Bennett responds to 'hypothetical' Rabbitohs rumours

Wayne Bennett has shut down talk of a return to the Rabbitohs, despite the recent pressure mounting on head coach Jason Demetriou. Despite a narrow win over Canterbury to get their season rolling on Friday afternoon, South Sydney remain at the bottom of the NRL ladder and the question marks around Demetriou's future at the club have only been temporarily quietened. Bennett previously spent three years at Redfern, taking the side within an inch of a premiership in 2021, before handing the reins over to his long-time assistant. The legendary coach is off-contract at the end of this year at the Dolphins and hasn't ruled out continuing his illustrious career at another team in 2025. However, when quizzed on the potential of a move back to the Bunnies, the 74-year-old brushed it aside in light-hearted fashion. "Why? They've got a coach," Bennett told media on Friday. "It is one of those hypotheticals. Every time there is a coach in trouble somewhere I am taking the club over. I've been at three clubs already this year. "Why don't you be patient and see where it all goes?" When asked about the overall form of Souths this year, Bennett continued to deflect. "It's football. It happens," he said. "You don't know why sometimes, I don't know why we played badly at Suncorp three weeks ago. It's just what it is. You've just got to manage it. "I don't want to talk about South Sydney. I've left South Sydney. "It has got nothing to do with me." Bennett had previously expressed interest to take over as coach for the Kiwis, but ultimately missed out on the job in favour of Stacey Jones. Parramatta were also seen as a potential landing spot for Bennett, but the side have started the season reasonably well under Brad Arthur. His side the Dolphins will take on a winless Gold Coast outfit on Saturday night.

Mansour slams 'hypocrisy' after Demetriou claims

The pressure on Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou is piling up, with a former player publicly criticising his approach and communication in an explosive interview. Josh Mansour - who played over 170 games in the NRL and represented both Australia and NSW - was part of the South Sydney squad in Demetriou's first season in 2022, but managed to play just five top grade matches that year. The 33-year-old was signed by the Bunnies during Wayne Bennett's tenure and enjoyed limited success in 2021, before being shut out by Demetriou the following year. Mansour officially hung up the boots at the end of last year, but didn't miss his chance to take aim at Demetriou when quizzed on his relationship with the coach. "I didn't see eye-to-eye with the coach, which was a shame ... we just didn't have a good rapport," he told The Bye Round podcast. "I feel like every time he spoke to me he didn't live up to what he was saying and I let it get to me. I'm a man of my word, I was holding him to every conversation we had. "I was so frustrated that final year." Mansour went in-depth on the situation, revealing Demetriou opted to 'rest' the winger for an opening-round clash, only informing him of the decision at captain's run. Later in the season, Mansour was left out of the Souths lineup two more times, including for debutant Izaac Thompson - despite conversations with Demetriou that indicated he would be selected in the NRL team.

Bunnies shake up coaching staff after Burgess drama

South Sydney has extended the contract of Jason Demetriou and announced an overhaul of his coaching department.The Bunnies on Wednesday revealed a two-year extension for Demetriou, which ties him to the role until the end of 2026, as well as a new two-year deal for Dragons legend Ben Hornby.Hornby has agreed to be full-time assistant coach of the team until the end of 2025, but is the only designated assistant to Demetriou named in the new structure.Joe O'Callaghan is the other assistant to Demetriou, but will juggle those duties while also coaching the club's NSW Cup team.The club statement also says Demetriou "will have a more hands-on coaching role from 2024 onwards, taking control  of the team's defence".The shake-up comes after former assistant coaches Sam Burgess and John Morris left the club in acrimonious circumstances in what was a bizarre end to the Rabbitohs' season.Bunnies legend Burgess was suddenly punted from the job in August after media reports claimed he and Morris had spoken out against Demetriou's favourable treatment of star players Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker.Morris was allowed to remain in the role, but has now left the burrow to join Benji Marshall's staff at Wests Tigers.South Sydney's season ended in turmoil and the team missed NRL finals as rumours about Demetriou's future began to swirl, including speculation Wayne Bennett could return to retake the job. Nevertheless the club has shown faith in Demetriou with a new deal."We have identified the areas in which we can improve to return the club to its goal of being a top-four team every year," club CEO Blake Solly said in a statement."We worked with Shane McCurry and spoke extensively to players, coaches, staff and our board on what we needed to improve in 2024. "We have already taken some steps towards rectifying the key areas that have been identified as capable of improvement. We will continue to make the required changes to return this club to where it belongs. We're confident that we can return to the right end of the ladder in 2024. "We were not looking for excuses, we were looking at solutions, and we'll continue to implement changes prior to  players returning for training in November. "We know a ninth-place finish is not what is expected of our club. Our members and supporters expect more, our partners expect more, and we expect more of ourselves."In other coaching department changes, club legend John Sutton has become a full-time development coach, while head of performance Andrew Croll has extended his contract and agreed to cease working with Queensland's State of Origin team during the season.

Souths coach in eye-opening admission as besieged NRL club hits historic low

Souths coach Jason Demetriou admits he's "disaapointed" with the turmoil that has engulfed the club but has accepted blame for his side's historic late season collapse. The Rabbitohs' 26-12 loss to fierce rivals, the Sydney Roosters, means they have become the first side in the NRL era to lead the competition after 11 rounds, yet miss out on the finals.Demetriou's men were among the premiership favourites in the first half of the season but since May, they have only won four out of 13 games to slip right out of finals contention. Incredibly, Friday night's defeat in the do-or-die final round clash against the Roosters marked just the second time all season that the Bunnies have found themselves outside the top eight.Their record capitulation caps off a dreadful few weeks for the club, following the shock departure of assistant coach Sam Burgess and the controversy surrounding Latrell Mitchell. The superstar fullback was labelled a "cancer" on the club by Rodney Churchill - the son of Rabbitohs legend Clive - in a swipe that left the league world shocked and outraged.Mitchell was also at the centre of the messy Burgess saga, with reports the club great left his role as assistant with two weeks of the regular season remaining after being unhappy with the perceived preferential treatment the fullback and Cody Walker were receiving at the club. It's understood Burgess walked after refusing to back down on his assertions that standards at the club were not where they should be.

Joey, Freddy slap down Gus' Latrell suggestion

Phil Gould has called for South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou to move Latrell Mitchell back to the centres in a bid to rectify the Rabbitohs' stalling season.But Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler have flatly rejected that idea as the Rabbitohs eye a clash with the Dragons in Cairns on Saturday, in which they'll be desperate to retain their position in the top eight."He's a dynamic centre," Gould said on Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast."He's a dynamic fullback when he puts his mind to it, when the game goes his way."He's got to force himself on the play a little bit more than he does if they want to beat the top sides."The game against the Dragons will mark Mitchell's third match since his return from the calf injury that ruled him out of the entire State of Origin series.He had little impact in his side's 26-16 loss to the Sharks in Perth last Saturday, although it must be noted that hardly a shot was fired by anyone in a red and green jumper over the first hour of the match, which saw Cronulla burst out to a 20-0 lead.Mitchell's career has produced spectacular moments at fullback and in the centres, where he still plays for the Blues and Kangaroos, but his drifting in and out of games has long drawn criticism.If Mitchell was to be moved to the centres, Blake Taaffe — who's worn the No.1 Rabbitohs jumper on a host of occasions — would slot in at fullback.However, Taaffe will be swapping Rabbitohs colours for the Bulldogs strip at the end of the season, having signed a two-year deal with Canterbury."When he does things that are so brilliant we want to see more of it," Gould said of Mitchell."That's where it is. So we're anticipating or thinking he can do more of it. He's kind of a little bit like a Ferrari; he waits for his moment, he waits for his time and he conserves energy until he can sense the moment."And he does that very, very well, but he needs to do more if they're going to beat the top sides."When the idea of Mitchell being shifted from fullback to the centres was put to Johns and Fittler on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth, the former Blues and Kangaroos teammates shut it down immediately."It's hard without front-rowers ... Everything comes off the back of your front-rowers, but not only that; your wingers get your sets rolling off kick returns," Johns said.

Underrated coach set to shatter Bennett hoodoo

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou is just 80 minutes away from shattering a Wayne Bennett hoodoo that has lasted for over three decades.No coach that has followed in Bennett's footsteps has ever taken a team to a grand final - indeed most have failed miserably.Ever since he left Canberra to help start the Broncos in 1988, coaches have struggled to fill the master coach's shoes - until now.They haven't been helped by the fact that Bennett has often take star players and key staff with him when he has switched colours - Demetriou has been fortunate because Bennett is taking a 'gap' year before taking over as inaugural Dolphins coach in 2023.But Demetriou has done it in his own style, forging his own identity at the Bunnies, who can make the grand final if they beat premiers Penrith on Saturday night.The Bennett hoodoo first claimed incoming Tigers coach Tim Sheens when he took over Canberra in 1988. After Bennett took the Raiders to the 1987 grand final, Sheens made the finals, but bowed out in straight sets in 1988.Ironically, that almost cost Sheens his job, early in 1989 - the year he made history by becoming the first coach to take the premiership trophy out of Sydney."There was a board meeting and there were rumblings I was going to be sacked," Sheens recalled to Wide World of Sports.

Rabbitohs blow for blockbuster stadium opener

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou has tested positive for COVID-19.He will miss Friday's final round match against the Roosters, which will open Allianz Stadium.The 46-year-old first tested positive via a RAT on Tuesday.Assistant coach Ben Hornby will take the reins for the round 25 clash which could determine a home final.Adding to the sides woes, stars Damien Cook and Campbell Graham are also out.Cook tested positive to COVID-19 on Sunday, while Graham is being rested after copping a high shot from Coen Hess.