Jason Demetriou’s tenure at South Sydney is almost certainly up after a 34-22 defeat at the hands of Cronulla that leaves the Bunnies 1-5 going into their first bye of the year.
While the results have been dreadful for Demetriou, there wasn’t much he could do about this: Souths lost three players before half time and were never a chance after that.
Tevita Tatola departed with an ankle problem, Tyrone Munro to a collarbone and, most crucially, Cameron Murray to a head knock.
They also had Jye Gray, on debut, missing for 15 minutes with a HIA, having already lost 15 minutes of Jacob Host earlier on, leaving one on the bench for over two thirds of the game.
Demetriou expressed pride in his team’s performance in such adversity and said that he was confident he’d be leading the club to Melbourne after next week’s bye.
“I won’t walk around with my head down,” he said.
“I’ve got no reason to. I’ve worked my backside off to get into this position as head coach of one of the biggest rugby league clubs in the world.
“I’m really proud I get to represent these boys, our fans, members and staff, and I’m excited about turning it around. If that changes, time will tell.”
Murray’s injury will particularly stick in the craw, as the shot from Sione Katoa that ended the captain’s night on the brink of half time was put on report, but not binned, giving Souths no access to their 18th man.
In between, the performance had actually been OK, with plenty of resilience and fight, but the Sharks always looked like they would have enough to deal with a Bunnies that already lacked Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook, Campbell Graham and Jai Arrow, then lost three more.
Ronaldo Mulitalo was Cronulla’s best, scoring the first and third and setting up the second to take the Sharks to the break at 16-6, and while they played with their food a little after that, the gap was always there.
Craig Fitzgibbon might sympathise with Demetriou: he lost three forwards in the Sharks’ defeat to the Wests Tigers earlier this year.
He won’t be the type to look too hard at the ladder at this stage, but his side – until Canberra play tomorrow at least – are top of it.
“It was a really hard fought victory,’ he said.
“The first half in particular, to go in in the lead with the amount of goalline D that we had to do, it was a strong performance there.”
On Mulitalo, Fitzgibbon was impressed by the finishing but even more by the less obvious work.
“Ronny has been delivering most of the year,” said the coach.
“Obviously he’s got the finishing skills and all the highlight stuff but (it’s) the little details in and around where he positions himself in carrying out of backfield and rolling his sleeves up for his teammates.”
This was a night on which everything had to go right for Demetriou – and before half time, it was clear that nothing would.
When Teig Wilton scored to put the Sharks 10-6 at the half hour, Jack Wighton was at fullback, Murray and Michael Chee Kam in the centres and Tom Burgess the last man standing on the bench.
The question, more than anything, was if the team were still playing for the coach and each other, and amid all this adversity, it would be a fair argument to say that they were.
As far as metres, possession and territory, it was all but equal at half time, and again at the end.
The Sharks had been lethal in their opportunities, but things like that happen when you’re playing a good team and flat out on your luck.
Then again, Souths average 34 points against this year, which is exactly what they conceded tonight.
Yet with the game gone, the Bunnies fought on and on.
Burgess was a titan in the second half, scoring and leading through the middle as he rotated on and off. Walker came to life and produced a trademark long pass to give Souths hope. Dean Hawkins pulled down Siosifa Talakai with one of the tackles of the year.
If the hierarchy were looking for a better performance, they got one, and it came in the midst of a maelstrom of bad luck.
One suspects, however, that they weren’t, and that this will just go down as another defeat among many this season.
In the week, Demetriou cut the figure of someone who knew his time was up. Were this to be his last game, it would be very, very unfair, given how much went against South Sydney, but rugby league is not a fair game at times.
There wasn’t much to win tonight for the Sharkies. They get two points, of course, and left without much by way of injury beyond a cork for Jack Williams.
Their performance was professional and, as Bunnies dropped everywhere, the win was assured throughout. Everyone was watching the other team.
When they do review on Monday morning, they’ll look at some of the nice shapes in attack and some excellent kicking but will also factor in the quality of opposition, which was heavily depleted.
As far as style is concerned, this was Fitzyball 101. All of the back five made more than 100m with the ball in hand, their tries were a mixture of wingers and backrows and the halves were near perfect with the boot.
They’re getting more and more time into Kayal Iro, who has looked like a first grader playing NSW Cup for years and now is proving he is plenty good enough for this level, and with him ensconced in the centres, it allows Fitzgibbon to have Siosifa Talakai as a multi-use bench battering ram, much like was when he first came into the side.
The late charge from Souths will have given the coach kittens in the box, but there was the feeling that they could have raised their level whenever they wanted or needed to.
As soon as the result got close, they went right up the other end and scored again. It never looked like they wouldn’t.
Dandragon
Roar Rookie
Feel free to comment on my actual post, GB.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
The definition of obsession: following someone from one NRL forum to another and posting exclusively to them for 8 years running! :laughing: I haven't seen 'Fatal Attraction' for years now 'Alex Forrest' but you keep reminding me of it on a regular basis.
Slammin_Sam
Roar Rookie
"An improved attitude" ??? That's the reason the rabbits are where they are now....happy to accept such low standards...from players that seems like they don't want to be there but take their pay cheques...get the broom out in the front office and the playing group otherwise it might be one premiership in 100 years instead of 1 premiership in 50 years.....
steveng
Roar Rookie
That LM cover tackle wasn't there to hurt JAC, it was a tackle to stop a potential crucial try being scored, a FB coming to do a cover tackle like that and especially stopping a winger from scoring in the corner, he has to make a decision way before it happens of what he is going to do, as he knows what wingers do to score tires today, as they are virtually impossible to stop once they are midair and a cover smothering tackle by a FB is the only way to stop them, and that is what LM was trying to do, it didn't work out for JAC and that is one of the risks that wingers take, if they want to go all in like JAC did :laughing:
steveng
Roar Rookie
Last night's Souths NRL side was an embarrassment of what this side has been dwindles down to and is a reflection of what Souths management and coaching staff have done over the years, as there are players that should have never ever been retained over the years like Tevita Tatola who is big enough but doesn’t have a go and when he has a go, he always gets injured this is every year (a broken foot?) then you have Jacob Host who is useless and should not be in this side same as Michael Chee Kam, and then we have Siliva Havili where has he been, as this is the first game I've noticed Siliva Havili having a real go or even playing, but this has been the case with Souths over the years. The only forwards that are worth anything are Cam Murray and Tom Burgess and that is it, why? The bottom line with Souths is that JD post Bennett only retained his favourite players and did not listen to his assistant coaches like Sam Burgess and John Morris hence and since Sam Burgess left, Souths have collapsed and the results of 2023 post R11 and R6 2024 are right before our eyes. JD only relying on Walker and Mitchell to win games was a bad bad mistake and especially letting Reynolds go was an even worse mistake that the Souths officials should never ever be excused for and they should be all sacked, as what Souths NRL side has ended up is a train wreck to what this once great side was! The look of Souths 2024 and beyond is what it looks like now and at R6, which is in 17th spot on the ladder, with 94 points for and 192 points against and with a difference of -102, which is what Souths top brass reflect and are all worth, as they should all be sacked! The Gladiator has to start putting his armour on and get into this fight “Where are your Russell???” as he has to start yielding his sword and start chopping a few heads (metaphorically speaking only :laughing: ) as if not, Souths have NO chance of bouncing back from this situation in 2025 or in the next 3 years, as that is how far behind Souths NRL side is compared to the top 4 NRL sides in the comp.
Tony
Roar Guru
He'd be an asset at most clubs
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Agree BigGordan, to me whatever problems they had in the second half of last season weren't fixed in the off season, and that's the issue here. I think all the Vegas hype and build up got them all focussed on that rather than fixing the underlying problems.
NRL Tourist
Roar Rookie
IF JD is dumped I hope the Roosters pick him up. JD has a lot more coaching experience than Robbos gaggle of ex players waddling around after him, nodding their heads at all his daft calls.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
If it is going to happen, today would be my guess. Meninga can sign on as interim coach and be there to start the new week without a vacuum, speculation and uncertainty. He will have an extra week due to the Bye to prepare the side. Once that happens Latrell and Cody will know their safety net of unnatural tolerance is gone. I expect a change in them but I fear Cody us past it. Latrell will play left centre and Jye Gray should retain the FB position. I see it the same way, andrew. Latrell and Cody, the attitude of many of the team as a flow on effect, will not change as long as Demetriou remains at the club. Time is up for JD and sooner than comes the better for all parties concerned. The intense scrutiny and media pressure must be a nightmare on both JD and his family and everyone has sufferer enough.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
The Souths Board have a really interesting problem to sort out. What do they expect from the rest of the season? On paper, they've got more than enough games left to make the finals, assuming the stars aligned, they had a fully fit squad and a coach in place with a plan to change things. Right now though, they're nowhere with a coach (not that there's a lot of strong candidates out there), a squad in disarray and key players missing through injury or suspension. Assuming a new coach is appointed, they need to be very clear about their expectations. They need to be equally clear what the coach is allowed to do to turn things around and that potentially includes shopping certain high value players to other Clubs or simply dropping them to NSW Cup if they're not performing. For Souths, their season has to start with the ANZAC Day game against the Storm. Looks like they're going to be super busy at Redfern between now and then.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Sharks now have a consistent Spine with a plethora of good forward depth to cover for the inevitable injury toll during the season There real strength is the back Five which can cover for a lacklustre game from Nicho. Nicho is not gunna be a match winner every game , but if they are to contend ,he must step up in the big games, like Cleary,DCE, AR and Hughes
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I don't think what Demetriou's saying is "guff" Dumbo, just a lot of words trying the express how he feels about the Club, what he thought about his players efforts against the Sharks and that he still believes he's best played to work with the squad for the rest of the year at least - and turn things around. The problem he faces is history. If the powers that be at Souths were only looking at this season's results, I don't think he'd have any problems at all. His problem started about round 12 last season and hasn't improved. If my maths is right, they've gone 5 wins and 14 losses since then and for a Club like Souths, that simply not good enough.
Dutski
Roar Guru
I was impressed with Jye Gray. Super involved and lightning fast. Shame Munro was injured again. I don’t reckon Havili gets enough wraps. He was in the middle of every good attacking play the Bunnies put on. Sharks are hard to get a read on. Trindall was very good. Certainly takes a lot of pressure for playmaking off Nicko. Young Iro will be keeping Talakai out of the centres for the foreseeable future.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
I thought the two new debutants had pretty good games and the Bunnies should persist with them.Gray has the heart of a lion unlike some other more illustrious in the Club. He needs to stay there when Trell returns - just to show others what real commitment is.
Dutski
Roar Guru
Murray failed his HIA. Trotting a concussed player out to do a presser would be a bad look
SSTID
Roar Rookie
I got to watch the game live last night and it was a better effort than in the past 5 weeks, but notwithstanding injuries, they never looked like they were going to win. For me there are at least 10 reasons why Souths are under-performing this year, some within their control and others outside their control. Unfortunately, I think it does boil down to the coach, not that many of the players are beyond blame, but it is the role of the coach to get his team prepared for and up for the game and JD has failed to do this for some 20 games. The shots of the dressing room post game look like a scene from Dead Man Walking, a lot of South players took a long time to get back to the sheds (don't know if this is normal) as though they didn't want to be there, knowing the consequences for their coach. Does anyone know why Murray didn't go to the press conference? As Tony said, if management are going to make a decision about JD, they need to come out Monday and make an definitive statement that he is either staying or going. If he is going then it is best to rip that band aid off quickly. That said, Souths have 2 tough matches in the next 2 games, where I expect they will cop a flogging, so whoever is coach will get the blame. This is currently not a team and certainty not a team that can be turned around quickly. So the rest of the season is not going to be a case of fine tuning, but radical changes.
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
" ... said that he was confident he’d be leading the club to Melbourne after next week’s bye. . “I won’t walk around with my head down,” he said. . “I’ve got no reason to. I’ve worked my backside off to get into this position as head coach of one of the biggest rugby league clubs in the world. . “I’m really proud I get to represent these boys, our fans, members and staff, and I’m excited about turning it around. " . Assuming this report is accurate, Mr Demetriou isn't doing himself any favours, spouting such guff. He cannot be "confident he'll be leading the club to Melbourne", when it's an open secret that Souths have been talking to Mal Meninga. He may have "worked his backside off" but the yarstick for successful coaching is about what the coach achieves, not the effort he puts in. He doesn't "represent the boys" - he's there to set the on-field strategy, coach the players to understand it and motivate them to execute it. "Excited about turning it round" "Excited"? Maybe he is confident that by the end of the season he will have it turned round, and will have Souths pushing for a spot in the eight. If so, he should have said that, rather than blurt out the inappropriate "excited". He ought to have accepted that his time as South's head coach is over, and every statement that he has made over the last week should have been directed at showing he is worth re-employing as a coach at some other club.
andrew
Roar Rookie
G B, Mitchell and Walker, like Corey Norman a couple of years ago, are the coach’s favourites and will never be dropped. It took Saints ages to wake up to what a dud coach Griffin was. How long will it take the Rabbitohs to act on Demetriou?
Tony
Roar Guru
If there's anyone actually running "the pride of the league" they should begin the day by either confirming that Demetriou is going nowhere or send him packing.
Eelsalmighty
Roar Rookie
Yeah, all good mate. I feel your pain. It must be super frustrating to see your side on paper, and then see the performances, media reports, some of the attitudes etc. moving Ilias back to NSW cup for a stint was probably a fair move for where he’s at career wise (get some confidence/hunger back, work on a few issues etc), but I was surprised with the Cook move. I don’t think his form warrants it, although he is slower and doesn’t get as many runs out of dummy half these days (at least in part due to his age). Maybe a very timely (5-6 weeks out from Origin) week or two in the NSW cup could make some players step up for short run, but with the safety of big money/long term contracts, you need them to want to play again if want season long success.