‘Not about me’: Demetriou on the future, Latrell and Souths’ new pocket rocket

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou says this is not the first time he has been forced to fight for his job, that he has lost count of the number of people checking in on his welfare and has explained why it is too soon to rush pocket rocket Jye Gray into first grade.

Grand final day has essentially arrived on Good Friday with the Rabbitohs desperate to avoid a 0-4 start to the season against Canterbury.

The last time the Bunnies dropped the opening month of games was 2008 when they finished 14th. They also did not have a roster boasting players like Latrell Mitchell, Cameron Murray and Jack Wighton.

Murray skipped Thursday’s captain’s run as he nursed a knee injury, but Demetriou confirmed the inspirational lock forward would play against the Dogs.

It is a must-win game for the club and coach who conceded after last week’s loss to bitter rivals the Roosters: “It’s probably the lowest point in my career”.

Demetriou said he loved a “scrap”, and was not about to walk away from the latest challenge.

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou

“It’s not the first time I’ve been in a position you have to fight for your job,” Demetriou said on Thursday.

“I played my whole professional career in England where you fight tooth and nail for your job regularly in terms of relegation.

“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.

“I know and have full trust that if these boys do their jobs and play and put the care into the right areas, results will start to run.

“I’m almost at the point where there are that many people reaching out, and making sure I’m all right, I almost want to turn my phone off.”

Jason Demetriou

“Like I’ve said to the players, these are the kind of moments in your career that build character and put you in the direction that you want.

“For some of the boys [who] haven’t been in this position before: bite down on the mouthguard, step into the contest, and let’s go after it.”

Demetriou appreciated the interest in his own job, but said: “I’m almost at the point where there are that many people reaching out, and making sure I’m all right, 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.

“We need to turn that into performances on the field: that’s the only way people stop talking about the negative stuff.”

Murray is South’s most important player, and seeing him with his right knee strapped and observing training on an overcast morning at Heffron Park was a concern.

“He had a fair workload last weekend, he’s had an ongoing issue the last couple of years with a bursa in his knee,” Demetriou said.

“He trained through the week. Our captain’s run is really light, so he stayed off it and getting ready for tomorrow.”

Gray has been in irresistible form in the lower grades, but Demetriou is happy to hold off handing the Queenslander his shot Mitchell’s No. 1 jersey.

“Everybody wants to put Jye Gray in,” Demetriou said. “He’s had two games in NSW Cup against men. He’s 19 years old.

“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.

“I’m a big believer in Jye and where he’s going in his career, and I’ll make the decisions based on what’s best for him and the club moving forward to make sure he’s a long-term player for us. He understands that, and he’s still got some growth. He’s learned some things that he’ll keep learning over the next few weeks.

“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. It’s up to us to get back to enjoying the things that give us energy.”

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