South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou has re-signed with the club on a three-year extension that keeps him at the helm until the end of 2026.
The club has also locked in assistant coach Ben Hornby until the end of 2025 and promoted Joe O’Callaghan to NRL assistant coach after guiding the Rabbitohs to a NSW Cup premiership and State Championship win.
Demetriou is “prileged” to re-sign and said it’s “an absolute honour to coach” the Rabbitohs, while chairman Nicholas Pappas said the board is “delighted” with the new deal and he is a man “NRL players want to play for.”
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It comes as the Rabbitohs reveal mass changes to the football department following an end of season review sparked by the club’s disappointing ninth-place finish.
“We have identified the areas in which we can improve to return the club to its goal of being a top four team every year. We worked with Shane McCurry and spoke extensively to players, coaches, staff and our board on what we needed to improve in 2024” Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said.
“We have already taken some steps towards rectifying the key areas that have been identified as capable of improvement. We will continue to make the required changes to return this club to where it belongs. We’re confident that we can return to the right end of the ladder in 2024.
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“We were not looking for excuses, we were looking at solutions, and we’ll continue to implement changes prior to players returning for training in November.
“We know a ninth-place finish is not what is expected of our club. Our members and supporters expect more, our partners expect more, and we expect more of ourselves.”
As part of the changes club legend John Sutton will become a full-time development coach and former players Jason Clark and Brent Hill return to the club as a Pathways Wellbeing Manager and Pathways Recruitment Manager receptively.
Head of Performance Andrew Croll has extended for two years, while also stepping down from his role with the Queensland Origin side to allow him to dedicate more time to the Rabbitohs.
Head of Strength and Conditioning Jack Milligan, as well as physios Paul Minei and Cuan Neyland have re-signed with the Rabbitohs.
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Meanwhile, Crawford Quinn has joined the club as Head Physiotherapist after spending time with AFL grand finalists Brisbane Lions and Brisbane Broncos. Joining Quinn is Vicki Locke as the club’s Rehabilitation Physio, while Sam Perman has come across from Manly as a Rehabilitation Coach.
Brendan Faher is the new Head of Sports Science after a decade of experience with AFL clubs Richmond and Geelong.
Tyrone McCarthry joins the club from the Warrington Wolves as Pathways Coaching Director, while Ryan Gonsalves joins Ian Reeves and Clark in the wellbeing space.
The changes come amid the departures of Head Physio Eddie Farah, who has stepped down due to personal reasons after 17 seasons with the club. As well as assistant coaches Sam Burgess and John Morris, also physio Luke Annesley.
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