South Sydney has sacked coach Jason Demetriou following the club’s dismal start to the 2024 NRL season.
The Rabbitohs board met twice on Tuesday, deferring a decision on Demetriou’s future until a second meeting in the afternoon, when chairman Nick Pappas could return from London.
After that second meeting, third-year coach Demetriou was told he would be fired after the team’s 1-6 start through 2024.
The perennial heavyweights also crashed out of the finals under Demetriou last year, losing seven of their last 10 games.
The club is yet to publicly confirm its manager for Thursday’s clash against Penrith.
Demetriou took over as Souths coach from Wayne Bennett at the end of the 2021 season, when the Rabbitohs lost to Penrith in the grand final.
He led the team to their fifth consecutive preliminary final, where they were again defeated by the Panthers.
Souths looked to be a competitive force again in 2023, when they were top of the table for 11 rounds, but lost nine of their last 13 matches to finish ninth and miss out on the final.
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