South Sydney football manager Mark Ellison believes his club is in good hands despite master coach Wayne Bennett departing Redfern.
Bennett, 71, has stepped away from the Rabbitohs to move back to Queensland, with former assistant Jason Demetriou set to take over the head role at the club.
While Demetriou hasn’t managed a club himself in first-grade, Ellison believes his work under Bennett in recent years will hold him in good stead.
“We’ve had good time to kind of plan for it (Wayne’s departure),” Ellison said on Sportsday NSW.
“When Wayne came, that was kind of part of the deal that ‘JD’ was going to be the head coach in three years’ time.
“That brings ‘JD’ to five years now working under Wayne.
“Playing under Wayne, he’s a very different coach, and he’s got very different ways to a lot of coaches.
“But I think Jason, having worked with him for that long, has put him in a good spot to take over the team now.”
Having worked at South Sydney since the start of 2019, Ellison believes Demetriou has formed a close relationship with the bulk of the club’s experienced players which should help him have control of the locker room.
“A lot of the players over the last two or three years are still with us,” Ellison explained.
“Jason has gotten to know them well, and I’m very confident he’s going to do a good job with them.”
Demetriou, 45, has two years remaining on his deal with South Sydney which will see him coach the side until at least the end of the 2023 campaign.
Listen to the full chat here.