2024 review: South Sydney Rabbitohs

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Andrew Jackson reviews the South Sydney Rabbitohs' calamitous season in 2024.

Jason Demetriou was under pressure before a ball had even been kicked this season.

A historic collapse the season prior had seen the Rabbitohs become the first team in the NRL era to lead the competition through the first 11 rounds before going on to miss the top eight.

For a team that went so close to playing in the grand final in 2022 and had been a Stephen Crichton intercept away from winning the premiership the year prior, it was a dramatic fall from grace.

And instead of repeating the strong start that saw South Sydney surge towards the top of the ladder in 2023, the Rabbitohs sat last with a 1-9 record after 11 rounds.

It saw Demetriou sacked as the team's biggest names failed to deliver, with Latrell Mitchell only playing 11 games due to injury and suspension to once again prove that the best ability is availability.

Turning Point

Is there even a turning point for a season that started with three-straight losses and didn't get any better?

Well, the Rabbitohs were able to steady things somewhat after that horror 1-9 start to the season, winning five games in a row in the Origin period to give their fans some glimmer of hope.

But they only went on to win another two to close out the season.

With that in mind, maybe it was the 34-4 loss to the Warriors back in round five which really put the Rabbitohs on the road to such a disappointing season.

They had scraped home against the Bulldogs the week prior for their first win of the year and another home game against a middle-of-the-pack Warriors outfit was the perfect opportunity to continue on an upwards trajectory.

Instead, they put in one of their worst performances of the year and it only went downhill from there.

What worked?

Not much. It is genuinely hard to spotlight anything that worked well, outside of the injuries forcing the Rabbitohs to blood some younger players who showed enough to suggest there is a bright future at South Sydney.

There will be more said about them later, but Jye Gray in particular proved the Rabbitohs have a more than capable fill-in for Latrell Mitchell at the back and potential long-term option should he ever move back into the centres.

What didn't work?

Well, first it is worth acknowledging injuries definitely played a part in South Sydney's struggles this season, and the loss of centre Campbell Graham in particular cannot be understated.

While Mitchell will obviously dominate the headlines and had his season cut short, Graham had been one of the reasons the Rabbitohs' backline was previously so potent in attack and equally tough to break in defence.

Getting Graham back won't solve all of South Sydney's problems, that much is obvious, but it will at least help.

On a broader scale, the defence was the biggest issue with the Rabbitohs conceding 28.4 points per game - which was the club's worst mark since 2006 (32.2).

The poor defence meant South Sydney often found itself falling behind by multiple scores and failed to recover, suffering 13 losses by double digits - again the worst mark since 2006.

It seemed like the defence was too passive in the middle, easily allowing opposition teams to generate quick play-the-balls and momentum up front and then if they swung it out wide it was the complete opposite story, with players too aggressive in rushing out and leaving their inside or outside man exposed.

The attack wasn't great but the defence was definitely the bigger problem of the two.

2024 week-by-week

Best players

There are a few names worth highlighting here, some of them already established stars and others emerging names to watch in 2025.

Starting with Jai Arrow, who looked like he could have easily been another high-profile name lost to injury and there was little doubting that shoulder issue impacted him all season long.

It showed at times but it definitely didn't show in the way he tirelessly defended, getting through a high workload every game both with and without the ball.

Sure, he wasn't always explosive with his carries but it is hard to have that effect when you have already drained yourself making so many tackles. A real workhorse-like season.

Also in the forward pack, Davvy Moale really emerged as an exciting player of the future for the Rabbitohs.

While Moale had seen limited opportunities off the bench in the past few years, injuries saw him given a bigger role in 2024 and he made the most of it with the sort of consistency that had been lacking previously.

Elsewhere, Jack Wighton still looks a great addition to the squad having won the George Piggins Medal awarded to South Sydney's best and fairest.

The other two worth spotlighting are Cam Murray, who was dependable as always and like Arrow, wasn't able to have the same sort of impact you would expect in attack due to the sheer amount of work he had to get through in defence, and his younger clone Tallis Duncan.

Duncan had already flashed his potential in the latter stages of last season and continues to look like a key part of the forward rotation into the future.

Rookies

With Mitchell sidelined for around half of the year, the Rabbitohs really leaned on young fullback Jye Gray and he was one of the more dynamic ball runners in the league despite his size.

Gray's smaller stature made him an easy target in defence and at times meant he was either exposed on attempted kick defusals or his carries from inside his own end.

But you could never question Gray's commitment and willingness with every carry, with the young pocket rocket going on to average a solid 132 running metres in his rookie season.

Liam Le Blanc also looked like a young forward to keep an eye on, throwing his body at defenders and playing with the kind of physicality and enthusiasm that could earn him more opportunities in 2025.

2024 player record

Season snapshot

Coaches: Ben Hornby (17), Jason Demetriou (7)
Captains: Cameron Murray (14), Cody Walker (11), Latrell Mitchell (1)

Biggest home crowd: 35,275 (vs. Canterbury in round 4)
Average home crowd: 14,511

Top pointscorer: Latrell Mitchell (98)
Top tryscorer: Jacob Gagai (9)

Club awards

George Piggins Medal (NRL Player of the Year) - Jack Wighton
Jack Rayner Players' Player - Jack Wighton
Bob McCarthy Clubperson of the Year - Ben Lovett
John Sattler Rookie of the Year Award - Jye Gray
Souths Cares Community Champion - Ben Lovett
Members Choice NRL Player of the Year - Cam Murray
Burrow Appreciation Award - Jai Arrow

Looking ahead

In order to move forward, the Rabbitohs have in fact gone back. Back to the coach who got them to the grand final in 2021.

The return of Wayne Bennett gives South Sydney fans a genuine reason to believe 2025 could be different and when combined with the arrival of Super League import Lewis Dodd and departure of Damien Cook, this will be a very different Rabbitohs team.

While it is not guaranteed to lead to a finals appearance, there is at least both optimism for better results in the short-term and potential building blocks for long-term success too.

Potential 2025 team

based on current signings at time of writing

1. Latrell Mitchell
2. Alex Johnston
3. Jack Wighton
4. Campbell Graham
5. Tyrone Munro
6. Cody Walker
7. Lewis Dodd
8. Davvy Moale
9. Peter Mamouzelos
10. Keaon Koloamatangi
11. Euan Aitken
12. Tallis Duncan
13. Cameron Murray

14. Siliva Havili
15. Jai Arrow
16. Tevita Tatola
17. Josh Schuster