Jason Demetriou has admitted an 'honest' week from the South Sydney Rabbitohs was behind the club picking up their first win of 2024 over the Canterbury Bulldogs on Friday afternoon.
The now traditional Good Friday clash saw South Sydney struggle to be anywhere near their clinical best, but after three straight losses to start the season, the Rabbitohs simply needed to find a way to pick up two vital competition points.
The game wasn't without its controversy after Josh Addo-Carr was ruled out with concussion at halftime for the Bulldogs, but Demetriou said the performance from his side was all about effort.
โFor me, the best part about this week has been our honesty and the honesty not only from the coaches but from our captain and our leaders in the team,โ the under pressure coach said during his post-game press conference.
โThey know where we need to get better, it was all about effort tonight and I think we saw that in spades.โ
The Rabbitohs were forced to get through plenty of defence in the narrow win, and Demetriou said he was proud of the way his side continually turned up at that end of the park.
โWe're playing like a team that's nervy โ you can see that โ but to keep turning up the way we did," Demetriou said.
โIt's about getting reward for your effort. We've been looking to solve problems with, whether it's a sweeping attack or a big shot here or rather than tonight we just worked hard.
โTo concede only 12 points (prior to the Bulldogs try off a quick tap in the 79th minute) was pretty special with the amount of ball they had.
โWe just kept turning up, we just kept finding a way and we'll get a lot out of that.โ
Both Demetriou and captain Cameron Murray admitted to feeling 'relief' after picking up the first win of the year, but the Rabbitohs will now need to get on a run quickly if they are to stay in touch with the top eight.
While Demetriou wasn't drawn for comment on South Sydney's upcoming run, the club take on the New Zealand Warriors, Cronulla Sharks, Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers over their next four games.
