Sacked South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou declares he is not finished in the NRL and says his time at the Rabbitohs ‘made me a stronger coach’

The fire still burns in Jason Demetriou and the sacked South Sydney Rabbitohs coach has broken his silence to declare his desire to coach in the NRL has never been stronger.

Souths finally pulled the trigger on the mentor after two board meetings last week, after the Rabbitohs made a shocking 1 win, 6 loss start to the season that saw the proud club anchored at the bottom of the NRL ladder.

It comes after Souths led the league in 2023 but infamously excelled and missed the final altogether.

It has been an extremely difficult time for Demetriou, who interned with Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos and Souths before earning his success with a first-grade appearance.

The mentor underwent training as usual before being told his contract was being terminated

It is not widely reported that former South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett will return to the club to replace Demetriou

But Demetriou, who now works as a commentator and analyst for radio station Triple M, said the lessons learned had only made him hungrier to coach at the highest level.

“My ambition to coach in the NRL has not diminished at all,” Demetriou said.

“In fact, I know I will be a better coach after experiencing this challenge.

“I love the game, I love giving back to the game and I have no bitterness towards South Sydney.

‘Over the past few days I have been able to reflect on so many things that I am proud of as a coach, and the other side of that is that there are so many lessons that I take with me from the difficult times.

‘What I’m not going to do is sit still, I’m going to keep learning, I’m going to watch every match and break the trends both technically and tactically. I’m sure when the next opportunity arises, I’ll be ready to hit the ground running.”

Souths have struggled since the midway point of the 2023 NRL season, falling out of finals contention and starting 2024 with a horror start of 1 win and 6 losses under Demetriou

Demetriou said his time at Souths has made him stronger and he wants to return as NRL coach in the future

One of the biggest clichés in rugby league is the club saying the coach has ‘lost the dressing room’ after they have been sacked. South Sydney has not rolled out that line Demetriou.

He handled the enormous pressure-cooker environment of the past 12 months with grace and has maintained the same composure now that the ax has fallen.

Now, talking to News Corphe was not interested in firing shots at the club that had given him so much – including his former mentor and likely successor Bennett.

“History shows that it is not easy to take over from Wayne and I know that many people have spoken to me since the decision was made about the challenge of being the successor after Wayne,” Demetriou said.

“That first season (2022) we not only lost Wayne, we lost Adam Reynolds, Dane Gagai and Jaydn Su’a, but we were strong enough to build on our season and reach a preliminary final.

‘I am proud of that and just as proud of the playing group that year.

‘There are few coaches who at such a big club get the opportunity to learn to navigate the internal and external influences and that will make me a stronger coach.’