Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has outlined why he believes the Rabbitohs are struggling this season in the NRL – and sacked coach Jason Demetriou has to shoulder much of the blame.
Arnold, 63, who famously guided Australia to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has built his envied reputation on hard work and his national squads always being united.
Mateship is key, a characteristic Arnold can’t see in spades at South Sydney.
‘When you watch Souths play, they don’t look invested. They are disjointed and not aligned. In my observation, Souths aren’t all playing as one and that can be cultural,’ Arnold told News Corp.
‘They are not on the same page and that will be the challenge for the new Rabbitohs coach – making sure the communication with the players is there.
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has outlined why he believes the Rabbitohs are struggling this season in the NRL – and sacked coach Jason Demetriou has to shoulder much of the blame
Arnold declared South Sydney ‘look disjointed and are not aligned’ after (pictured, axed coach Jason Demetriou) for the last three seasons
Arnold believes Wayne Bennett’s famed man-management skills are exactly what the Rabbitohs need – as the supercoach (pictured) weighs up returning to the club
Premiership favourites in the eyes of many footy fans before round one, the Rabbitohs have only won once this season (pictured, after conceding a try against the Panthers on Thursday)
‘It’s about man-management, mateship, brotherhood, family, doing it for each other, all being on the same page, discipline, working hard, turning up in time.’
Arnold pointed to the Panthers as to where the Rabbitohs should aspire to be.
Ivan Cleary’s all-conquering squad have been savaged by the salary cap in recent years, but their ‘next man up’ mentality sees them in line for a fourth successive premiership in 2024.
Arnold also declared he ‘loves the Rabbitohs’ and would entertain doing some work with the embattled NRL club if approached.
He previously worked with the likes of Sea Eagles great Jamie Lyon and Wests Tigers legend Benji Marshall at the peak of their careers when it came to goalkicking.
Meanwhile, Wayne Bennett is firming to be South Sydney’s head coach in 2025, with reports the ‘interested’ Supercoach will soon ink a three-year deal.
In his previous stint at the club, Bennett guided the Rabbitohs to the Grand Final in 2021 as well as two preliminary finals.
He also had much maligned stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker firing on all cylinders.