2024 end of season reviews: Wests Tigers and South Sydney Rabbitohs

As the 2024 NRL season nears its conclusion, it’s time to look back on the teams that fell short of September and what they got right and wrong in their respective seasons.

In this edition, SEN will take a look at the Wests Tigers who claimed their third straight wooden spoon and the South Sydney Rabbitohs who endured a remarkable fall from grace in 2024.

Wests Tigers

Ladder: 17th
Record: 6-18 (-287)

The first year under rookie head coach Benji Marshall was always going to be a struggle but despite finishing with the wooden spoon for the third season in a row, there were several glimpses of what this team could become in future years. The Tigers relied on youth all season which led to some poor results but also resulted in the unearthing of great talent including Lachlan Galvin, Heath Mason and Latu and Samuela Fainu.

The pending arrivals of Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva, Jack Bird and Royce Hunt suggests the dark days may be over for the Tigers.

Highlight: The kids are alright

Marshall had 12 debutants this season, the most of any club in the competition. The clear standout was Lachlan Galvin who would be backable favourite for Dally M Rookie of the Year if it weren’t for a two match suspension earlier in the year. 19-year-old Heath Mason stood up at fullback in the last few weeks after Jahream Bula was ruled out with injury and starred in the Round 25 win over the Manly Sea Eagles. The much hyped Fainu brothers proved their worth.

Despite some horror losses, the young players will be better for the experience and there is now a clear foundation at the Tigers.

Honourable Mentions: Easter Monday win v Parramatta, Round 25 win v Manly

Lowlight: Dragons Demolition

The Tigers led 14-12 at half time against the Dragons in Wollongong and arguably looked the better of the two sides in the opening stanza. What followed beggars belief as the Tigers conceded 44 unanswered points in the second half to ultimately lose 56-14. It was a night where Zac Lomax broke the Dragons’ point scoring record in a single game with 32. The Tigers completed at 36% in the second half which meant the Dragons has 72% of possession in final 40 minutes.

It was the ninth straight loss at the time and Marshall labelled the performance as “unacceptable.” It proved that despite the general improvements throughout the year, there was still a lot of work to be done to fix the club.

Honourable Mentions: 16 players sin binned in 2024, Spoonbowl, 58-6 loss v Cronulla

Best Player: Lachlan Galvin

The Tigers better make sure they lock this kid in for several years to come. In another disappointing year, Galvin provided a shining light for Tigers fans every week. In his maiden campaign, the 19-year-old scored four tries whilst setting up 16 including nine line break assists. Galvin ran for 130 metres on average across his 21 games in 2024.

Honourable Mentions: Api Koroisau and Fonua Pole

What they need for 2025: Avoid the wooden spoon

After years of internal instability, it appears the Wests Tigers are finally aligned from front office to on-field. CEO Shane Richardson has been incredibly proactive about cleaning out the roster as well as attaining funding for Leichhardt Oval. Benji Marshall has been able to solely focus on the football side of things which hasn’t been the case in previous seasons. A host of big name signings for 2025 should see the Tigers lift up the ladder.

Early 2025 prediction: 15th

Grade: F

Despite the notable improvements in 2024, the Tigers ended the season with only six wins and claimed their third consecutive wooden spoon.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

Ladder: 16th
Record: 7-17 (-188)

After capitulating in the second half of 2023, many expected the Bunnies to bounce back in 2024 and make the top four and at the very least, make finals. Given the talent on the South Sydney roster, that should’ve been the bare minimum but instead, the remnants of the horror end to 2023 carried over which resulted in Jason Demetriou being the first coach to be sacked in 2024 after only Round 8. The season was essentially gone from that point and things went from bad to worse as the club continued to bury their heads in the sand about the significant cultural issues that had been allowed to fester.

Highlight: The five game winning streak

After Round 11, the Rabbitohs were sitting last on the ladder with a 1-9 record. Interim coach Ben Hornby managed to galvanise his side that had lost all confidence to six straight wins including victories over the Brisbane Broncos and Manly Sea Eagles. After Round 18, the Bunnies were sitting at 6-9 and were smokeys for the finals given how they were performing.

Lowlight: The club’s handling of Latrell Mitchell’s white powder scandal

In a season filled with low points, the final month at South Sydney perfectly encapsulated what had gone wrong in the last 18 months at the club. An image began to circulate of Mitchell standing over an unknown white powder in a motel room in Dubbo.

A board meeting with Souths officials resulted in the club handing Mitchell a $100k fine with $80k suspended. A soft penalty which only fuelled the narrative of favouritsm towards Mitchell from Souths.

Mitchell was injured at the time the photo was doing the rounds and Ben Honrby infamously told the press that he would be unavailable for the final few weeks of the season. The NRL ultimately slapped Mitchell with a $20k fine and one-match suspension. Instead of accepting responsibility, the club attempted every loophole in the book to have Mitchell serve his suspension in the final match of the season. It proved that South Sydney had their priorities wrong and weren’t prepared to adequately punish their superstar who is on upwards of $1 million a season.

Honourable Mentions: Demetriou sacked after Anzac Day bloodbath v Melbourne, 48-6 loss v Roosters

Best Player: Keaon Koloamatangi

It was slim pickings but Koloamatangi was one of the few Rabbitohs players to enhance his reputation in 2024. The 26-year-old made the switch from second row to starting lock in the absence of skipper Cameron Murray and thrived, scoring five tries and averaging 157 running metres per game. Koloamatangi was one of the few players to feature in all 24 games for the Bunnies this season.

What they need for 2024: A complete culture overhaul

What does this club stand for? That’s the question that all areas of the club must answer before Wayne Bennett arrives next season. Bennett will make changes and lift this side back into finals contention. But when he’s gone, what happens? South Sydney failed to address the problems Sam Burgess raised in regards to favouritism and paid the ultimate price in 2024. This team is far too good to finish 16th and finals is the minimum expectation for this side next season.

Early 2025 prediction: 6th

Grade: F

Any year where the coach is sacked is an automatic fail. Wayne Bennett has a lot of work to do to get this side back into contention.