The South Sydney Rabbitohs have announced John Morris will be joining the South Sydney coaching staff for the next two seasons.
Working under new head coach Jason Demetriou who will take over from Wayne Bennett, the former Cronulla head coach will revert to an assistant role, which he held at Cronulla for sometime.
Alongside Morris, Ben Hornby has also extended his contract at Redfern and will remain on the South Sydney support staff until at least the end of 2023.
Head of Football at South Sydney Mark Ellison believes it's vital to set in stone the coaching structure for 2022 as early as possible, with the side pushing its 2021 campaign.
“We’re very happy with the calibre of coaches that will be leading the Club in 2022 and beyond,” Ellison said.
“Jason has done a long coaching apprenticeship in the NRL, United Kingdom, Queensland Cup and New South Wales Cup and he is certainly ready to step up into the Head Coach role.
“For him to be able to call on a young yet experienced group of Assistant Coaches for support is very important and we couldn’t be happier with the coaching team we’ve assembled with him.
“John has shown he has what it takes to coach at the top levels, as has Ben. They have a wealth of playing experience on their side but they have also developed a strong coaching background over the past decade to be the right men to appoint as Assistant Coaches to Jason.
“In saying all of this, we still have a campaign on which to concentrate in 2021, and Jason and Ben will play a big role in supporting Wayne (Bennett) and the team over the next three months as we work towards securing our 22nd premiership for this Club.”
Demetriou's appointment as the Head of Coach of South Sydney will be a great test for the as the 45-year-old has spent the last 5 years in Assistant coach roles with the North Queensland Cowboys (2015), St George Illawarra Dragons (2016), Brisbane Broncos (2017-18) and of course with the Rabbitohs the last two seasons under the mentorship of Bennett.
The Rabbitohs currently sit inside the top four on the competition ladder with eight weeks remaining.