From Sporting News,
Anthony Seibold confident he hasn't lost the Rabbitohs players
Anthony Seibold has returned to work at South Sydney insisting he has not lost the players’ respect despite his impending exit.
Seibold will take over at the Broncos in 2020 in a coach swap with Wayne Bennett, although
there is every chance the pair could make the switch ahead of the 2019 campaign.
Despite the uncertainty and rumours of player unrest, Seibold walked into Redfern Oval on Wednesday declaring he had not ‘lost’ the dressing-room.
"Someone has obviously got an agenda there by saying that stuff. I had a great evening with the guys at Damien Cook's wedding last Friday night,” he told the media.
"I got some really lovely texts and phone calls from the players over the last week.
“Obviously they're disappointed I'm going to move on in 2020 but they understand my reasons for wanting to go home.
"I've got a great relationship with the players. One of the things I did 12 months ago was put a lot of time into building relationships with the players.
"Because, when I took over, the players, I suppose, came off the back of not such great seasons. I did a lot of work around relationships.
"My love for the playing group and the club hasn't diminished.”
But Seibold acknowledges his decision to leave Souths off the back of his debut season is not the greatest outcome for the club
He admitted telling owner Russell Crowe he was moving on was tough, but he has few regrets.
Seibold said: "It was a conversation I didn't really like making but I didn't want to let Russell down.
"Russell understood. I spoke to Russell on a number of occasions. He was the first person from the club that I told that I was going to the Broncos on 2020.
“At the end of the day, I did what's best for me.
"I'm keen to go to work. It's been a real positive last 12 months here. The players have worked really hard and I love working with them here.
“I'm going to work and I'm really excited about the opportunity.”