The South Sydney Rabbitohs made history for all the wrong reasons in 2023, becoming the first side in the NRL to lead the competition at Round 11 and not make finals.
Just a year after making a preliminary final, missing the finals was an unacceptable result for the historic club and has shed light on the club’s internal struggles.
A coaching re-structure two weeks before the season ended was the culmination of a dramatic late-season fall off from Souths and has fans worried for the 2024 season.
SEN NRL expert Denan Kemp revealed he is concerned for the club’s foreseeable future if the off-field drama continues at Redfern.
“My biggest concern out of all three of those teams is the Bunnies,” Kemp said on SEN 1170 The Captain’s Run.
“It’s one thing to just have bad form and fall out of finals footy, it’s another thing (to) have all the drama off the field (that’s) what I’m more concerned about.
“Nearly every club, sometimes they just don’t play good footy for whatever reason it’s just not clicking but the concern for the Rabbitohs is, at the very least in the last game we would see some semblance of, they were united, but they were nowhere near where they should be in regards to effort.
“When I see that I go, ‘I don’t really feel like the off-field stuff is resolved’.”
SEN’S Cameron Smith backed up Kemp’s sentiment and admitted the wounds may not have healed in time for the Rabbitohs to push for finals.
“There’s a lot going on there I feel, a lot, I think with some of the things that you hear have happened at the organisation, I think people are deeply hurt by it,” Smith added.
“Maybe it might take more than a fortnight to get over, it’s a shame because they’re a great footy club, they’ve got a great history, this current side, it’s a team that should be playing finals.
“They were leading the comp in May, from about Round 12 or 13, they just looked a shadow of themselves.”