Jason Demetriou insists he’s the man to lead South Sydney out of their crisis as Latrell Mitchell was sin-binned in the Rabbitohs’ humiliation at the hands of bitter rivals the Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
Winless through the opening three rounds and in danger of finishing a round at the bottom of the ladder for the first time since 2010, the Rabbitohs were condemned to one of the most humiliating nights in their recent history with a 48-6 battering.
Demetriou was already under intense pressure after his side’s second-half collapse last year, but the blowtorch will intensify this week as he tries to drag one of the NRL’s most talented rosters out of an alarming early season form slump.
“It’s disappointing,” Demetriou said. “It hurts. It’s probably the lowest point of my career right now. But I know how we get out of it and we’ll fight together.
“There’s only one way out and that’s staying together and fighting. It’s a matter of getting that first win. Individually, there’s signs out there we’re starting to find some rhythm, but we’ve got to fight harder.
Joseph Manu carries the ball into the Rabbitohs defence.Credit: Getty
“I’m extremely confident [it can be turned around]. That’s my job.”
Demetriou only last year signed a contract extension until the end of 2026.
His team were never in the fight against their oldest enemy, celebrating Jared Warea-Hargreaves’ 300th NRL match, who sprung to an 18-0 half-time lead thanks to a Sam Walker double and then celebrated as Joseph Manu and James Tedesco both crossed twice after the break.
Mitchell was sin-binned for a professional foul as he tangled with Tedesco trying to shepherd a ball dead. He then accidentally stomped on the Australian and NSW captain while off balance and falling to the ground.
The Roosters piled on two quick tries while Mitchell was off the field and added another for good measure when he returned for the final six minutes.
The desperate Rabbitohs will play the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Good Friday.
“I’ve got a lot of trust in this group,” Demetriou said. “They’re a great group. They care about each other and that’s probably our biggest problem at the moment. We don’t want to be in the position we’re in. We’ve got to accept our reality and fight our way out of it. I know we will get out of it.
Asked about the scrutiny, Demetriou said: “That’s the privilege of being at this footy club. It’s a big club. I’m the head coach and I’ll wear that. That’s no problem. The noise is there because we’re not winning.
“I’ve got no doubt [I can turn it around]. The only thing that’s going to make a difference is getting our training right and getting some results on the board.”
Demetriou said he disagreed with the decision to sin-bin Mitchell, but admitted it didn’t have a bearing on the result with the Roosters cruising at 30-6.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson said he was proud of the way his side honoured Warea-Hargreaves in his milestone match.
“You can sometimes rely on that and [think], ‘that will be enough’,” Robinson said. “But if that’s all you focus on, then the air will go out of it pretty quickly. The footy has to be the foundation and you have to tap into that at different moments. He’s honoured the front-rower code for 300 games.”
Walker didn’t finish the match after being sent for a head injury assessment and deemed to be suffering category one symptoms.
