2022 Rabbitohs Rumours, Signings and News

[Rabbits20]

 

[Rabbits20]

Tom said today on Rabbitohs TV player interview that he’s keen to stay on at Souths after the end of next year, let’s hope that happens. He will have to take a pay cut but I feel he knows that.

 

[callmack1]

Tom said today on Rabbitohs TV player interview that he’s keen to stay on at Souths after the end of next year, let’s hope that happens. He will have to take a pay cut but I feel he knows that.

If he keeps playing like he is, we'd be INSANE not to re-sign him!

 

[callmack1]

Menulog's multi-year extension with Souths: https://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news/2022/09/09/menulogs-multi-year-extension-with-souths/

 

[callmack1]

Real story behind Demetriou appointment at South Sydney​

- David Riccio
The man responsible for bringing Jason Demetriou to South Sydney has revealed for the first time that supercoach Wayne Bennett had nothing to do with the appointment.

The stunning revelation has emerged as Demetriou attempts to become just the second coach to take a side previously coached by Bennett beyond the first week of the finals.

Demetriou’s quest to do what few coaches who have succeeded Bennett have been able to do takes a major step when the Bunnies face the Roosters on Sunday in a do-or-die elimination final at Allianz Stadium.

Scuppering a widely held-view that Demetriou followed Bennett to South Sydney from their days together at the Broncos, former Rabbitohs GM of football Shane Richardson said the rookie NRL coach was never part of a Bennett package deal.

To that point, Richardson told how Demetriou, 46, beat “six other candidates” for the role to succeed Bennett as head coach of Souths.

“Wayne didn’t bring Jason down from Brisbane,’’ Richardson revealed.

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou watches over a training session at Redfern Oval. Piicture: Getty Images
“He (Demetriou) stood on his own two feet to get that job, it wasn’t Wayne who got him that job.

“We did an exhaustive search on who we wanted to replace Wayne when he was due to leave us (in 2021).
“There were six others we looked at.

“The thing was, when Wayne took on the job (in 2019), he never got to choose his high performance staff.
“That was because we wanted to put in a system that when Wayne left, it was still going to be there when he was gone and so that we weren’t left in a situation where we’d have a bunch of Wayne’s own staff leaving with him.

“We decided that the Rabbitoh way and the way we do things was, we weren’t just going to have a coach come in and rearrange everything and then move out.

“Wayne wasn’t against it. He was happy for us to go through the process.”

Jason Demetriou joined South Sydney as an assistant to Wayne Bennett. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Following 12 months working with Bennett as the Broncos attack coach in 2017, Demetriou joined the super coach at Souths as his assistant coach in 2019.

In February 2020, it was announced that Demetriou would succeed Bennett at the end of the 2021 season.

That, according to Richardson, was always the plan — even if Bennett won last year’s premiership with the Rabbitohs.

Richardson, who stood down as Rabbitohs GM in early 2020 but remains a consultant for the club, broke down key details of how he chose Demetriou following a one-on-one meeting at a hotel in Kingscliff, on the NSW north coast.

Shane Richardson has lifted the lid on Jason Demetriou’s appointment as Rabbitohs coach.

Demetriou brought with him his vast coaching resume and development as a leader that began with a stint with Keighley in the UK, before delivering a premiership with Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup, working as assistant coach at the Cowboys, before working as both an NRL assistant and NSW Cup coach with St George-Illawarra before joining Bennett at the Broncos.

“I always think that to have coaches who want to be coaches, they have to coach men first,” Richardson said.

“He coached men for years.’’

There was another key factor in Richardson’s appeal in Demetriou, who spent all of his 13-year playing career in England, playing for six clubs.

“The best coaches are coaches, who weren’t necessarily the best players,’’ Richardson said.
“They had to work really hard on their ability to play as high as they did.

“So therefore probably harder than what, say, a Wally Lewis, had to work.

“He was used to working hard.

“I liked his mental toughness, the way he talked about footy and there were some pretty good coaches we interviewed.

“Some of them have got jobs now.

“But in our opinion he was the best young coach at the time to take the job on.

Jason Demetriou interacts with Latrell Mitchell during a Rabbitohs training session at Redfern Oval. Picture: Getty Images

“Whoever we appointed was always going to take over from Wayne.

“Wayne knew that even if he won the premiership in the last year, we had made a commitment to Jason Demetriou.

“It was similar to when we appointed John Lang for two years and we appointed Michael Maguire.

“Langy knew he had two years and everyone was on the same page.‘’

Stepping out the shadows of Bennett, in a season that saw Demetriou lose star fullback Latrell Mitchell for three months, Richardson said the rookie coach deserved credit for his first NRL season.

“He lost some key players last year and had to replace them internally,’’ Richardson said.

“He lost Latrell at the start of the year, which cost them games that they may have won and put them in the top four.

“Coaching is about winning and no one knows that more than Jason.

 

[Runrabbit14]

Real story behind Demetriou appointment at South Sydney​

- David Riccio
The man responsible for bringing Jason Demetriou to South Sydney has revealed for the first time that supercoach Wayne Bennett had nothing to do with the appointment.

The stunning revelation has emerged as Demetriou attempts to become just the second coach to take a side previously coached by Bennett beyond the first week of the finals.

Demetriou’s quest to do what few coaches who have succeeded Bennett have been able to do takes a major step when the Bunnies face the Roosters on Sunday in a do-or-die elimination final at Allianz Stadium.

Scuppering a widely held-view that Demetriou followed Bennett to South Sydney from their days together at the Broncos, former Rabbitohs GM of football Shane Richardson said the rookie NRL coach was never part of a Bennett package deal.

To that point, Richardson told how Demetriou, 46, beat “six other candidates” for the role to succeed Bennett as head coach of Souths.

“Wayne didn’t bring Jason down from Brisbane,’’ Richardson revealed.

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou watches over a training session at Redfern Oval. Piicture: Getty Images
“He (Demetriou) stood on his own two feet to get that job, it wasn’t Wayne who got him that job.

“We did an exhaustive search on who we wanted to replace Wayne when he was due to leave us (in 2021).
“There were six others we looked at.

“The thing was, when Wayne took on the job (in 2019), he never got to choose his high performance staff.
“That was because we wanted to put in a system that when Wayne left, it was still going to be there when he was gone and so that we weren’t left in a situation where we’d have a bunch of Wayne’s own staff leaving with him.

“We decided that the Rabbitoh way and the way we do things was, we weren’t just going to have a coach come in and rearrange everything and then move out.

“Wayne wasn’t against it. He was happy for us to go through the process.”

Jason Demetriou joined South Sydney as an assistant to Wayne Bennett. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Following 12 months working with Bennett as the Broncos attack coach in 2017, Demetriou joined the super coach at Souths as his assistant coach in 2019.

In February 2020, it was announced that Demetriou would succeed Bennett at the end of the 2021 season.

That, according to Richardson, was always the plan — even if Bennett won last year’s premiership with the Rabbitohs.

Richardson, who stood down as Rabbitohs GM in early 2020 but remains a consultant for the club, broke down key details of how he chose Demetriou following a one-on-one meeting at a hotel in Kingscliff, on the NSW north coast.

Shane Richardson has lifted the lid on Jason Demetriou’s appointment as Rabbitohs coach.

Demetriou brought with him his vast coaching resume and development as a leader that began with a stint with Keighley in the UK, before delivering a premiership with Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup, working as assistant coach at the Cowboys, before working as both an NRL assistant and NSW Cup coach with St George-Illawarra before joining Bennett at the Broncos.

“I always think that to have coaches who want to be coaches, they have to coach men first,” Richardson said.

“He coached men for years.’’

There was another key factor in Richardson’s appeal in Demetriou, who spent all of his 13-year playing career in England, playing for six clubs.

“The best coaches are coaches, who weren’t necessarily the best players,’’ Richardson said.
“They had to work really hard on their ability to play as high as they did.

“So therefore probably harder than what, say, a Wally Lewis, had to work.

“He was used to working hard.

“I liked his mental toughness, the way he talked about footy and there were some pretty good coaches we interviewed.

“Some of them have got jobs now.

“But in our opinion he was the best young coach at the time to take the job on.

Jason Demetriou interacts with Latrell Mitchell during a Rabbitohs training session at Redfern Oval. Picture: Getty Images

“Whoever we appointed was always going to take over from Wayne.

“Wayne knew that even if he won the premiership in the last year, we had made a commitment to Jason Demetriou.

“It was similar to when we appointed John Lang for two years and we appointed Michael Maguire.

“Langy knew he had two years and everyone was on the same page.‘’

Stepping out the shadows of Bennett, in a season that saw Demetriou lose star fullback Latrell Mitchell for three months, Richardson said the rookie coach deserved credit for his first NRL season.

“He lost some key players last year and had to replace them internally,’’ Richardson said.

“He lost Latrell at the start of the year, which cost them games that they may have won and put them in the top four.

“Coaching is about winning and no one knows that more than Jason.

Richo was a very very smart operator !

Had the ability to rub some people up the wrong way but on a whole did a some great work for Souths which should not be underestimated…..

 

[NovoBunny94]

This win over the scum enemy just further drives home the point that JD has done a fantastic job. They won the opening of Allianz, we won when it mattered.

 

[handyman2190]

I hope now that all those haters calling for JDs sacking earlier in the season shut the F up now,the guys done the hardest job imaginable,just ask all the other teams bennetts coached and shat on after leaving.

 

[callmack1]

'Embarrassing' act overshadowing NRL Finals: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/finals...n-column/d721f79c-46ab-4ed7-828d-29e95d372660

From Zero Tackle,

V'Landys under pressure as TV talks heat up in wake of AFL mega-deal

After the media outlet agreed to a mammoth broadcast rights deal with the AFL last week, it’s been reported that the NRL will seek tens of millions of dollars in compensation from Foxtel.

The NRL’s current deal, which was negotiated in the context of the early days of the COVID pandemic, was supposed to include a “most-favoured” clause, which the Sydney Morning Herald reports would have prohibited the broadcaster from making a better deal with the AFL in the future without compensating the NRL for the significant sacrifice they made during challenging times.

This request was rejected by Foxtel, but reports suggest NRL clubs were under the impression that the current deal could be renegotiated before the completion of its seven-year term if the AFL were given a better package during that time.

The current deal sees the NRL receiving around $200 million per season from Foxtel, which becomes $400 million when combined with the free-to-air agreement reached with Channel 9 and other outlets.

As it stands, the AFL’s deal is worth $640 million per year, with $400 million of that coming directly from Foxtel.

Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo have both come under fire since the AFL’s deal made headlines, accused of leaving money on the table during the NRL’s negotiations.

V’Landys is confident an agreement can be reached but is refusing to comment since his initial response last week.

The Herald reports that there was a perceived verbal agreement between the NRL and Foxtel that the NRL’s desire to make concessions to strike a deal during the uncertain times of the pandemic would be rewarded in the future.

“At the time, Fox needed an asset on its sheet to continue its viability. If we didn’t come to play, there’d be no Foxtel,” V’Landys told the Herald.

“If Foxtel coughs, all the codes catch a cold. If you haven’t got them in play, the other parties won’t be paying as much as they should. You need that competitive tension.

“When COVID hit, they were the only ones. If they went under, there was no one else available.”

V’Landys is currently embroiled in financial battles on multiple fronts, also involved in an ongoing dispute with the NSW Government regarding the suburban ground funding withdrawals in the wake of the recent NSW flood disaster.

 

[callmack1]

From Sporting News,

NRL admits it's 'concerned' about players staying down and milking penalties

The NRL have admitted they are concerned about players staying down after tackles and waiting for a possible penalty to be awarded following an intervention from the Bunker, despite the on-field referee initially ruling play-on.

“I’m not going to stand here and pretend it isn’t something we’re monitoring and that we’re unprepared to deal with,” Graham Annesley, head of football elite operations, said during his weekly press briefing.

The issue of players milking penalties has become a hot topic after the controversial elimination final between the Roosters and Rabbitohs descended into madness last Sunday.

In a game which featured seven sin-bins and numerous HIA’s due to high tackles, Trent Robinson was asked post-match if the issue of players remaining on the ground after minimal contact was now prevalent.

The Roosters coach bristled at suggestions any of his players had done so during the contest, in order to get an opposition player sent to the bin.

Yet Phil Gould was adamant that milking penalties had infiltrated it's way into the game. He singled out Latrell Mitchell for doing it on a number of occasion, after the fullback felt he’d been illegally targeted by the defence.

“Latrell Mitchell made a farce of rugby league yesterday, and he was within his rights to do so," Gould said, while appearing on 100% Footy.

“A couple of times, he just refused to get up and play the ball.

“He looked at the referee and said ‘I know it’s not a penalty, you know it’s not a penalty, but let’s see what the Bunker thinks’ – he made a farce of the game.”

Commentator Andrew Voss echoed Gould’s sentiments, when he claimed players are being given too much leeway to influence the Bunker, calling for the ref to take back control over proceedings.

“I’ll go on about the Latrell Mitchell one where he just put the ball on the ground,” Voss said on SEN’s Breakfast with Vossy & Brandy.

“He got to his knee and put the ball on the ground, and we don’t call that a knock-on?

“The official had to be strong there and say, ‘You’ve lost the ball’.

“We can’t encourage that. You can’t be putting the ball on the ground like it’s a down in the NFL.”

Annesley admitted he was worried that players were taking advantage of the Bunker’s ability to scrutinise each and every tackle, if they felt like they had been a victim of foul play.

“I am concerned about the issue of players waiting for the intervention of the officials, but that’s not isolated to yesterday.

“It’s a trade-off. When the game didn’t have a Bunker at all, there were horrendous errors that were being made.

“But we’ve got to make sure we don’t have rules and procedures in place that actually encourages players to stay down when they’re not impacted by the tackle.

“We have to find ways to deal with that so it doesn’t become an ongoing problem.”

Yet Annesley placed the responsibility of stamping out the act of milking penalties back at the feet of the players.

“It’s a cooperative fix,” he said.

“It’s not something that we can necessarily address just through mandating certain player reactions.”

There have been calls from some quarters - most notably Gould - suggesting the Bunker should be scrapped or only allowed to rule on try-scoring situations.

However, Annesley claimed video technology had improved the game immeasurably, while also reducing the possibility of a team being disadvantaged due to foul play going unnoticed.

“It isn’t used a lot for general play,” he insisted.

“The area of foul play is the area most people are talking about when it comes to the Bunker. But we face the possibility of a team being without a player for much of a match because of an incident of foul play that the match officials might not see.

“Is that really going to be acceptable to everybody?

“It’s all well saying in the off-season, ‘Oh, we’ll just put up with that’. But guess what happens the first time it actually happens? No one puts up with it.

“They say, ‘Sack the referee’ or ‘Why didn’t we use the Bunker?’

“There’s a happy medium, where we’re doing everything we can to minimise officiating errors but still maintaining the flow and the entertainment value of the game.”

 

[callmack1]

'It might sound ridiculous' - Huge $2m call made on Latrell Mitchell: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/7b75b60168942148a1417eb010c1ae6c

 

[BotanyBorn&Bred]

Tom said today on Rabbitohs TV player interview that he’s keen to stay on at Souths after the end of next year, let’s hope that happens. He will have to take a pay cut but I feel he knows that.

Vossy said on Sunday that Tom was the 5th most capped player for the Rabbitohs.
If correct, that means only Sutto, Reyno, Merritt, and McCarthy are in front. Maybe equal with Tugger.
Great achievement!

 

[Captain Apollo]

NRL great lifts lid on post-retirement depression

'It hasn't been great'

wwos.nine.com.au

 

[callmack1]

'Deserves it' - Rookie Rabbitohs coach set to ink extension: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/10bc3056f08b9182b3a31d3e145af694

Yoohoo this is fantastic news for JD and us as a club. JD is so impressive, and I have no doubt, I hope, that he is the man to lead us into the future. He deserves this!!

NRL great lifts lid on post-retirement depression

'It hasn't been great'

wwos.nine.com.au

Really sad to hear that about one of our favourite sons. That explains his absence mid-year.

But what an absolute legend for getting help, getting better, and then coming out and talking about it. Absolute legend!

We love you Sutt, hope you're okay and continue to get better.

 

[Captain Apollo]

.....

Really sad to hear that about one of our favourite sons. That explains his absence mid-year.

But what an absolute legend for getting help, getting better, and then coming out and talking about it. Absolute legend!

We love you Sutt, hope you're okay and continue to get better.

I saw him at the Round 25 game at Allianz. One of the crowd near me was having a good stir with him about who's home ground it was, and Sutto was giving as good as he got with both parties having a laugh whilst doing it. I may be a Roosters supporter, but I know from direct personal experience how hard it can be to deal with depression.

 

[Rabbits20]

'Deserves it' - Rookie Rabbitohs coach set to ink extension: https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/10bc3056f08b9182b3a31d3e145af694

Yoohoo this is fantastic news for JD and us as a club. JD is so impressive, and I have no doubt, I hope, that he is the man to lead us into the future. He deserves this!!


Really sad to hear that about one of our favourite sons. That explains his absence mid-year.

But what an absolute legend for getting help, getting better, and then coming out and talking about it. Absolute legend!

We love you Sutt, hope you're okay and continue to get better.

Agree mate I was saddened to hear you know how much I love Sutto I’m glad he seems to be on the mend

 

[Rabbits20]

 

[Bobby Moses]

From Sporting News,

NRL admits it's 'concerned' about players staying down and milking penalties

The NRL have admitted they are concerned about players staying down after tackles and waiting for a possible penalty to be awarded following an intervention from the Bunker, despite the on-field referee initially ruling play-on.

“I’m not going to stand here and pretend it isn’t something we’re monitoring and that we’re unprepared to deal with,” Graham Annesley, head of football elite operations, said during his weekly press briefing.

The issue of players milking penalties has become a hot topic after the controversial elimination final between the Roosters and Rabbitohs descended into madness last Sunday.

In a game which featured seven sin-bins and numerous HIA’s due to high tackles, Trent Robinson was asked post-match if the issue of players remaining on the ground after minimal contact was now prevalent.

The Roosters coach bristled at suggestions any of his players had done so during the contest, in order to get an opposition player sent to the bin.

Yet Phil Gould was adamant that milking penalties had infiltrated it's way into the game. He singled out Latrell Mitchell for doing it on a number of occasion, after the fullback felt he’d been illegally targeted by the defence.

“Latrell Mitchell made a farce of rugby league yesterday, and he was within his rights to do so," Gould said, while appearing on 100% Footy.

“A couple of times, he just refused to get up and play the ball.

“He looked at the referee and said ‘I know it’s not a penalty, you know it’s not a penalty, but let’s see what the Bunker thinks’ – he made a farce of the game.”

Commentator Andrew Voss echoed Gould’s sentiments, when he claimed players are being given too much leeway to influence the Bunker, calling for the ref to take back control over proceedings.

“I’ll go on about the Latrell Mitchell one where he just put the ball on the ground,” Voss said on SEN’s Breakfast with Vossy & Brandy.

“He got to his knee and put the ball on the ground, and we don’t call that a knock-on?

“The official had to be strong there and say, ‘You’ve lost the ball’.

“We can’t encourage that. You can’t be putting the ball on the ground like it’s a down in the NFL.”

Annesley admitted he was worried that players were taking advantage of the Bunker’s ability to scrutinise each and every tackle, if they felt like they had been a victim of foul play.

“I am concerned about the issue of players waiting for the intervention of the officials, but that’s not isolated to yesterday.

“It’s a trade-off. When the game didn’t have a Bunker at all, there were horrendous errors that were being made.

“But we’ve got to make sure we don’t have rules and procedures in place that actually encourages players to stay down when they’re not impacted by the tackle.

“We have to find ways to deal with that so it doesn’t become an ongoing problem.”

Yet Annesley placed the responsibility of stamping out the act of milking penalties back at the feet of the players.

“It’s a cooperative fix,” he said.

“It’s not something that we can necessarily address just through mandating certain player reactions.”

There have been calls from some quarters - most notably Gould - suggesting the Bunker should be scrapped or only allowed to rule on try-scoring situations.

However, Annesley claimed video technology had improved the game immeasurably, while also reducing the possibility of a team being disadvantaged due to foul play going unnoticed.

“It isn’t used a lot for general play,” he insisted.

“The area of foul play is the area most people are talking about when it comes to the Bunker. But we face the possibility of a team being without a player for much of a match because of an incident of foul play that the match officials might not see.

“Is that really going to be acceptable to everybody?

“It’s all well saying in the off-season, ‘Oh, we’ll just put up with that’. But guess what happens the first time it actually happens? No one puts up with it.

“They say, ‘Sack the referee’ or ‘Why didn’t we use the Bunker?’

“There’s a happy medium, where we’re doing everything we can to minimise officiating errors but still maintaining the flow and the entertainment value of the game.”

If someone stays down and they don’t get a penalty then you can assume there was no offence. If they stay down and get a penalty it means the officials missed something that they shouldn’t have which is not the players fault. Illegal play is illegal play.

 

[NovoBunny94]

Hey boys and girls, I have a question.
Did we not sign the Roosters trainer Travis Touma this year?
If so how come our trainer is still Eddie Farah? No disrespect meant towards Farah, just thought you'd have Trav as he is also the NSW trainer

 

[Veracity14]

Hey boys and girls, I have a question.
Did we not sign the Roosters trainer Travis Touma this year?
If so how come our trainer is still Eddie Farah? No disrespect meant towards Farah, just thought you'd have Trav as he is also the NSW trainer

Farah is actually a physio, he may do the onfield stuff & head injury assessment, given his credentials in a medical sense he may be better positioned to assess llayers & Sutton runs the water, maybe Tuema just does the conditioning at training etc
But this is just all a guess