South Sydney and club legend Sam Burgess have parted ways.
Burgess left Rabbitohs headquarters just after 9am on Wednesday and told waiting reporters he wished the players all the best for the remainder of the season and that he would “release a statement later today”.
The Souths board met on Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning to decide whether to axe assistant coaches Burgess and John Morris following a fallout with coach Jason Demetriou.
Morris was spotted at training on Wednesday and it’s understood he will keep his job for the rest of the season.
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Demetriou responds to rift rumours | 01:45
The board meeting came after The Sydney Morning Herald reported the assistants were concerned that Demetriou wasn’t tough enough superstar duo Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker and that they were receiving preferential treatment.
According to the Herald, club powerbrokers called co-owner Russell Crowe for advice on the saga and Souths will now see out the rest of the season without Burgess and Morris on the coaching staff.
“It is significant news coming out of the South Sydney camp and what we will know by later tonight, I believe, we should have an indication on whether Jason Demetriou’s two assistant coaches have severed ties effective immediately,” Dave Riccio told NRL 360 on Tuesday night.
“It is in the throes of the South Sydney board — it could go two ways – but certainly all indications are that that could happen.”
Burgess was already finishing up with the club this year after signing on as head coach of Super League club Warrington Wolves, while Morris’ two-year contract finishes at the end of the season.
Morris has been linked to an assistant role under Benji Marshall at the Wests Tigers.
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Paul Crawley called it a “bombshell” move by the Rabbitohs and believes it’s a “line in the sand moment” for Demetriou that could have major ramifications.
“It’s a bombshell moment,” Crawley said on NRL 360.
“Sam Burgess is royalty at South Sydney, John Morris is an assistant coach. I can understand it if they’re on a different page to Jason Demetriou why there has to be a change, but if that’s the case this is Jason Demetriou’s line in the sand moment.
“It’s a very brave move, but I believe it could be potentially fatal because of who Sam Burgess is. He has total respect from the players, he has respect within the club at every level.
“If you’ve pushed him aside and South Sydney go on to lose to the Roosters and miss out on finals, next year he’ll be coaching for his future.”
Rugby league legend Gorden Tallis questioned the timing of the decision, saying it was “confusing,” but Riccio stressed the importance of having the entire coaching staff on the same page.
“We’ve all been around the game long enough to understand how important harmony at the coaching staff level is,” Riccio said.
“If you’re talking about still making finals, you can’t do that when there isn’t harmony in the elite level of your coaching staff.”
Rabbitohs ‘have fallen off a cliff’ | 02:01
It tops off a dramatic day for the Rabbitohs where Demetriou was forced to apologise to his playing group after it was revealed he had liked a comment on social media that criticised two of his players.
The concerns around Mitchell and Walker’s treatment have reportedly been bubbling away for months but came to a head after Sunday’s 29-10 loss to the Knights.
Walker had a quiet game by his standards and while Mitchell had some good moments he was well below his best too.
Mitchell also finished the game in the sin bin for an unecessary elbow to the back of the head of Tyson Frizell and has since accepted a one-game suspension for the incident.
The loss was just four days after Mitchell was invited up on stage at country singer Luke Combs’ concert to chug a beer.
The video of him doing that has reportedly rubbed some at the Rabbitohs the wrong way.