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Wayne’s a raging favourite but Souths have intriguing left-field options for big coach call
The Rabbitohs have finally made the call to part ways with embattled coach Jason Demetriou — now they face an even bigger decision that will determine whether they can return to being a premiership force.
The Rabbitohs are languishing at the bottom of the NRL ladder after eight rounds, despite boasting one of the competition’s best squads filled with elite talent.
Assistant coach Ben Hornby is set to stand in as the club’s interim head coach, and Rabbitohs powerbrokers will begin their search for a suitable appointment for 2025.
Wayne Bennett, who coached the Rabbitohs between 2019 and 2021, appears to be cleary atop of the list of potential candidates.
The 74-year-old is without a contract for the 2025 season and his Dolphins head coach job will be taken over by assistant Kristian Woolf. Be
But he’s not the only option — with club CEO Blake Solly saying the club would undergo a thorough process to find a replacement — with some fascinating names possibly in the mix.
Bennett is the obvious man to take over in 2025, with his contract expiring and his ties to South Sydney powerbrokers still running deep.
He led the Rabbitohs to two preliminary finals and a grand final, going down to the Panthers, before departing in 2021 and handing the reins to Demetriou.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Rabbitohs chief executive admitted “Wayne is one of the coaches we will talk to”.
“Wayne had great success, he left the club on very good terms. We will speak to Wayne and if he’s available and interested certainly will progress that,” he said.
“I think we want someone who fits this fine group and can get the best out of them. It’s a unique client group having worked with them for a long period of time.
“And we want I think a coach that can get them to form their best consistently and we want I think a coach that understands the values and heritage and history of this club.
“We’ve got great skills, great athleticism and some great personalities and every head coach has to get the best out of them whether it’s Ivan Cleary what he does at Penrith over a long period of time, Wayne, his track record with a number of clubs.
“The best coaches always get the best out of their playing group.”
Questioned whether Bennett was excited by the prospect of returning to the club, Solly explained: “I don’t know because I haven’t spoken to Wayne in terms of how in depth he would think about our club at the moment”.
However, Solly spoke with an air of confidence regarding potentially landing Bennett who “left the place in very good shape” after the 2021 season.
“I do know Wayne likes success, I know he wants to win premierships and I know he loves the values of the club and what we stand for,” he said.
“I think he’s made that pretty clear in his time here and since then about his affection for the club, the ownership, the board, the management team.
“We’ll certainly be speaking to Wayne because he left the place in very good shape when he left and he was great while he was here.
“He got us through a lot of really difficult times during Covid and a bit of a restructure of the playing group when John and Greg and Sam retired. He was a pleasure to work with.”
Speaking on NRL360 on Tuesday night rugby league legend Braith Anasta held a theory the signing of English star Lewis Dodd was potentially a hint about Bennett’s imminent return.
Woolf was the coach who introduced Dodd into the Super League with St Helens.
“I have a feeling that the signing of (Lewis) Dodd (from the Super League) could be linked to Wayne,” Anasta said.
“I don’t think they would have made a call as big as this without knowing who the head coach was going to be.
“I think with Wayne’s ties with the Super League and the English rugby league, and Dodd playing underneath his assistant at the moment.”
Burgess left his role as an assistant coach in the dying stages of the 2023 season, reportedly concerned with the favouritism handed to superstars Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell.
Burgess went on to sign a two-year deal to coach the Warrington Wolves in the Super League from 2024, meaning he’s contracted until the end of 2025.
Burgess’ concerns with the state of the club have may have been factors that resuled in Demetriou ultimately facing the axe, and many South Sydney fans would love to see the club legend now return.
The 35-year-old also clearly has coaching pedigree, and has made an impression at Warrington who currently sit fourth with six wins from nine games.
Considering the English rugby league legend fell out with some of the club’s powerbrokers, those relationships may have to be mended before a potential return.
However, the former middle forward has a strong relationship with Bennett and could even become his assistant as a part of a potential succession plan.
Solly gave nothing away when asked if the club would approach Burgess to return to South Sydney.
“I don’t really know what Sam’s plans are,” Solly said.
“Sam I think has a two-year contract at Warrington and we have built up a lot of respect for Simon, Stuart and Carl and the group at Warrington so we wouldn’t want to disrupt that.
“My view is that it’s Sam’s opportunity to show the world that he can coach and we wish him every success with that.”
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