South Sydney Rabbitohs assistant coach Jason Demetriou has sent a hilarious sledge Wayne Bennett’s way ahead of the NRL grand final.
Incoming South Sydney head coach Jason Demetriou has sent a hilarious sledge Wayne Bennett’s way ahead of the super coach’s last game in the hot seat at the Rabbitohs.
Demetriou has been Bennett’s right hand man for his entire tenure at Redfern and said the apprenticeship had left him in good shape to take the reins after Sunday’s grand final against Penrith.
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“We’ve been in a finals series every year I’ve been with him,” Demetriou told reporters on Saturday.
“There’s been a lot of lessons along the way, things that I reflect on away from training, away from the field, the one-on-one conversations, all those little things.
“It’s been a great journey and I’m sure it’ll hold me in good stead for the future.”
Asked to share the biggest lesson he’d learned from Bennett, Demetriou couldn’t resist firing a shot at the boss.
“The main one is probably that lunch at Grappa during Covid-19 is not a good idea,” he quipped.
Demetriou’s joke poked fun at Bennett’s Covid-19 breach — the super coach contravened the league’s strict biosecurity protocols by attending Sydney restaurant Grappa in August of last year.
“In seriousness, it’s probably his love for his players. He really cares about them and that’s the number one thing that stands out,” Demetriou said.
For the first time in the NRL era, Bennett will take a year off from coaching next season but Demetriou said he doubted Sunday’s game would be the 71-year-old’s last as a coach.
“I think it’s easier to say that I can’t see him not coaching,” he said.
“He just loves it. It’s what he’s done for such a long time.
“I know it’s something he’d be keen to continue.”
The Rabbitohs defeated the Panthers in week one of the finals and Demetriou said his side would take a similar game plan into the sides’ rematch.
“You’ve got to hold onto the footy, limit the opposition’s chances and take the chances when you get them,” he said.
“We were able to do that (in the qualifying final) but I think we’re going to have to go to another level tomorrow. It’s a grand final, there’s a lot at stake here and there’s no tomorrow for us.”
Demetriou confirmed Adam Reynolds would indeed resume goalkicking duties on Sunday.
A minor groin injury forced Reynolds to hand Blake Taaffe the kicking tee in the preliminary final, but on Friday, the veteran halfback said he would be able to kick in the grand final, provided he got through Saturday’s captain’s run unscathed.
“Based on today’s training, he’s ready to go,” Demetriou said.
Demetriou, who also served as an assistant to Bennett at Brisbane in 2017, admitted he was not yet thinking about his first year as an NRL coach.
“I’ve tried to put it to the back of my mind, to be honest. We’ve got to be really focused on what we’re doing now.
“I’m really excited about the 80 minutes and hopefully doing what we need to do to get that trophy for Wayne.
“Things are in place for next year. I don’t need to be focusing on that now.”
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