A defiant Jason Demetriou is welcoming the pressure engulfing his tenure at South Sydney as the under-fire coach pleads with friends to stop checking in on him.
Vowing that inspirational Souths skipper Cameron Murray would feature in the Bunnies’ Good Friday meeting with Canterbury, Demetriou played down suggestions he would shift the enigmatic Latrell Mitchell out of fullback for rookie Jye Gray.
Demetriou cut a relaxed figure on Thursday, six days on from the Rabbitohs’ 48-6 loss to the Sydney Roosters that sent the one-time premiership contenders to the bottom of the NRL ladder.
The Bunnies coach described the Roosters defeat as the “lowest point” of his career.
The shaky start to 2024 and missing last year’s finals series has led to speculation Demetriou’s job is under threat, but the coach says he and his side are ready to fight their way out of trouble.
“I know there’s a lot of noise around the place sometimes about how bad people are feeling and all that sort of stuff,” Demetriou said.
“I’m almost at the point where there are so many people reaching out and making sure I’m alright that I almost want to turn my phone off.
“I’m sick of telling people I’m actually OK. And I am. I’m not walking around with my head down.
“I get to come to work at this fantastic club - if you can’t get up and get excited about coming to work for South Sydney, you’re in the wrong job.
“I’ve been around this game a long time. I played my whole professional career in England where you fight tooth and nail for your job regularly in terms of relegation.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been in a position where you have to fight for your job.
“To be honest, it’s not about me or how I’m feeling. It’s about me doing my job for the boys and making sure they can go out there and be themselves.”
Souths (0-3) have not lost a Good Friday clash in the last five years and a fourth straight defeat to start 2024 would equal the club’s worst start to a season since 2008.
Tireless captain Murray is expected to be fit for the clash with the Bulldogs after being on restricted training duties this week as he struggles with a bursa in his right knee.
"Our captain’s run is really light, so he stayed off it and getting ready for tomorrow (Friday)," Demetriou said.
Demetriou has resisted making wholesale changes to his side, axing prop Sean Keppie and promoting Michael Chee Kam and Shaquai Mitchell to the interchange bench.
There was talk Demetriou may move Latrell Mitchell to the centres and bring pocket rocket fullback Gray into the No.1 role.
But the Souths coach says he doesn’t want to expose the rookie to a potential baptism of fire.
“I've got a duty of care to Jye to make sure that he's not only ready to play first grade, but he's ready to hold his position in first grade,” Demetriou said.
“I'm not going to rush a 19-year-old kid in to replace one of the best players in our club.
“Latrell has had some good times in the first two games and no one enjoyed last week.”
