South Sydney has renewed Jason Demetriou’s contract and announced a revamp of his coaching staff.
The Bunnies announced a two-year agreement for Demetriou on Wednesday, tying him to the post until the end of 2026, as well as a new two-year contract for Dragons star Ben Hornby.
Hornby has promised to serve as the team’s full-time assistant coach until the end of 2025, however he is the only designated assistant to Demetriou included in the new organization.
Joe O’Callaghan is Demetriou’s other assistant, however he will also be coaching the club’s NSW Cup team.
Demetriou will also “have a more hands-on coaching role from 2024 onwards, taking control of the team’s defense,” according to the club statement.
Former assistant coaches Sam Burgess and John Morris left the club in contentious circumstances, capping off a weird finale to the Rabbitohs’ season.
Legend of the bunnies Burgess was fired abruptly in August after media reports stated he and Morris had spoken out against Demetriou’s favoritism toward star players Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker.
Morris was allowed to keep his position, although he has recently moved to join Benji Marshall’s staff at Wests Tigers.
South Sydney’s season ended in disarray, and the team missed the NRL finals while rumors regarding Demetriou’s future circulated, including conjecture that Wayne Bennett might return to take over the job.
Despite this, the club has renewed Demetriou’s contract.
“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 collaborated with Shane McCurry and talked to players, coaches, staff, and our board about how we may better in 2024.
“We have already taken some steps toward correcting the key areas identified as needing improvement.” We will continue to make the necessary modifications to return this club to its rightful place. We are optimistic that we will be able to return to the top of the ladder in 2024.
“We weren’t looking for excuses; we were looking for solutions, and we’ll keep making changes before the players return to training in November.”
“We understand that a ninth-place finish is not what our club is expected to achieve.” Our members and supporters expect more, as do our partners, and we expect more from ourselves.”
In other coaching department changes, club legend John Sutton has been promoted to full-time development coach, while head of performance Andrew Croll has decided to extend his term and stop working with Queensland’s State of Origin team during the season.
