South Sydney management are starting to realise that there is some validity to the concerns raised by Burgess at the time,according to club insiders. Burgess,a close friend of co-owner Russell Crowe,disagreed with Demetriou’s coaching methods but officials were unimpressed by the way in which Burgess expressed his opinions.

Teammates’ frustration with Latrell

Developments surrounding Demetriou’s future come as the Rabbitohs reach a crossroads with Latrell Mitchell,who has left club figures questioning his desire to play rugby league after a horror outing against the Warriors that was compounded by a three-game ban for an inexcusable brain snap.

South Sydney officials have long defended Mitchell against attacks from the public and media,but even they have run out of excuses for their star player after his on-field behaviour and performance against the Warriors.

Mitchell faces athree-game ban for elbowing Shaun Johnson,and was cautioned,but not charged,for a dangerous throw in the 31st minute on Tohu Harris. Mitchell will be told he has let his team and club down and will need to earn back their trust through his actions,and be asked if he still has the passion to rediscover his best form.

At a team meeting following their win over the Bulldogs on Good Friday,Demetriou announced the nominations for the Jason Clark award,which is chosen by players and rewards the player who best displays the qualities of courage and resilience that typified Clark.

According to sources with knowledge of the meeting,who spoke on the condition of anonymity,the players highlighted a try-saving tackle in the corner on Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr,and Demetriou duly wrote the name of Isaiah Tass on the board alongside Mitchell’s.

In an environment where honest conversations have been strongly encouraged,winger Alex Johnston piped up and questioned the coach as to why Mitchell was being lauded for an illegal challenge that could have resulted in the fullback being suspended and hurting the team.

Mitchell,who was off sick with an ear infection that day,wasn’t in the room. The coach defended Mitchell,praising him for showing the effort to get across and put himself in the position to save the try,regardless of the execution that landed him in hot water and left Addo-Carr,his close friend,concussed.

Johnston’s words amounted to a call for accountability– the same thing demanded by Burgess before he walked out on the club last year.

A week later,Mitchell was put on report for two “stupid things”,as Demetriou called them in the post-match press conference – hurting the team as Johnston feared.

According to sources who requested anonymity in order to speak freely,some players are growing tired of Mitchell,a senior player in the team,consistently failing to show the leadership qualities required of him,and resentment is beginning to seep into the ranks.

Demetriou’s methods in spotlight

In private,Burgess has gone out of his way to make it known he didn’t blame Mitchell for South Sydney’s plight last year,but rather his issue was with Demetriou for enabling a culture that prevented the team from capitalising on the talent within it.

Burgess did not agree with Demetriou’s coaching philosophies and had issues with his communication – or a perceived lack thereof – a matter which has since been highlighted by Josh Mansour in a scathing criticism of Demetriou on James Graham’sBye Round podcast.

As part of the club’s planning in the off season,the coach undertook to use Peter Mamouzelos as part of a two-pronged hooker attack alongside Damien Cook.

Mamouzelos,who was firmly of the impression he was part of the coach’s plans,wasn’t used in the opening month of the season and didn’t get on the field against the Warriors until the final 17 minutes,when the game was long gone.

According to club sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter,one of the major concerns is Demetriou’s reluctance to take on advice. The club advised him to hire a senior assistant to replace John Morris as his defensive coach,but Demetriou refused to do so,instead promoting NSW Cup coach Joe O’Callaghan to fill the void left by the departures of Burgess and Morris.

The Rabbitohs,who persuaded Demetriou to take on Burgess as an assistant last year despite the coach’s misgivings,didn’t want to tell him who he could and couldn’t appoint again.

Of greater concern to the club is that Demetriou has taken over from Morris as the team’s defensive coach. The Bunnies have conceded 162 points this season – the worst defensive record in the competition.

Compounding their frustration is that Morris has gone to work with Benji Marshall at the Wests Tigers and has made significant improvements to their once frail defensive line.

The Rabbitohs also have the second-worst attack in the competition,with the Tigers having scored more points in four games than the usually potent Rabbitohs have in five.

Frustration is now spilling into the playing group. Sitting on the sideline watching on as the Warriors ran riot at Accor Stadium,their angst was clear to see.

Players began squabbling among each other,blaming others for mistakes. Their body language spoke volumes of their unhappiness with the predicament they now find themselves in just five weeks into the competition.

That frustration has filtered down to the player agents,with Braith Anasta,the manager of Lachlan Illias,taking a pot-shot at the club on social media after the halfback suffered a broken leg playing in NSW Cup on Saturday.

“I love ya mate you’ll be back bigger and better than ever,” Anasta said on Instagram. “One things[sic] for sure .. they need you! Should of[sic] been there today in first grade. Joke.”

Will the Bunnies bring back Burgess?

Mitchell has previously been afforded time off to return home to Taree when he hasn’t been playing.

This time the club will instead implement a strict training regime to make sure he stays in shape,but more importantly to show his teammates he is being held to account for his disciplinary lapses.

Part owner and tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes was a keen observer inside the sheds after the game on Saturday. There’s no doubt he would be concerned with what he saw in a sombre and depressing dressing room.

Can the Rabbitohs bring back Burgess,who has coached Warrington to second place on the Super League ladder with five wins from their first seven games? And if so,would they have to move on key players first?

Cody Walker recently told theHerald that he still hasn’t spoken to Burgess since his departure last year,though not through a lack of trying.

“I actually tried to reach out to him before he went to England … the logistics of it couldn’t work out,” Walker said.

“I don’t hold any hard feelings towards Sam. I still love the player that he was and still have wonderful respect for the man. I’d just like to sit down and have a yarn with him and hash out anything that needs to be hashed out and move on from it.”

If and when South Sydney pull the trigger on Demetriou,club officials are of the opinion that the next coach should be selected following a rigorous process.

The appointments of Maguire,Anthony Seibold,Bennett and Demetriou were all approved by the board on the recommendation of former boss Shane Richardson.

There’s a view internally that South Sydney is too big a club for a rookie coach,but that they should still cast a wide net to see what’s out there.

Burgess? Bellamy? Michael Cheika? Or Bennett,who has unfinished business at the cardinal and myrtle following two preliminary finals and one grand final loss in his three seasons at the club?

A loss to Cronulla on Saturday and we will know pretty quickly who it won’t be. Perhaps Demetriou won’t be the only casualty.

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