Jason Demetriou, currently assistant coach of South Sydney Rabbitohs, will have a taste of the head coaching role for two weeks after Wayne Bennet will be forced to undergo isolation.
Bennett confirmed he had lunch on Wednesday at the popular Leichhardt Italian restaurant Grappa with a woman, believed to be his partner. Breaching the NRL’s strict biosecurity rules, he has been ordered to go into a 14-day “COVID hold”.
The Greek Australian was given Bennett’s blessing on Thursday to take control for the next weeks, saying, “he’ll be head coach here in 12 months time so of course he’ll be up for it.”
The two coaches are reportedly expected to speak every day over the next couple of weeks. However, Demetriou will be left alone in the box on game day, with no phone calls being permitted during the match.
Most training sessions are filmed with a drone, giving Bennett the chance to lend his feedback to Demetriou and fellow assistants Ben Hornby, John Sutton and Sam Burgess, who are all in charge of calling the shots and directing players on the field.
It was announced in February by the Sydney Morning Herald that Demetriou will take over as Souths head coach for the start of the 2022 season when Bennett steps aside.
Raised in the St George area, Demetriou spent his junior career playing for St George Illawarra Dragons before sailing across the seas to play in the English Super League. The Sydney coach spent majority of his playing career in England at Wakefield Trinity.
Demetriou has two seasons as assistant coach to prove to Rabbitoh’s fans that he can continue Bennet’s success, with this two week trial a strong opportunity to show his potential leadership.
