South Sydney Rabbitohs 2024 season review

Overview

Abysmal, atrocious, shocking. Take your pick of words to describe the Bunnies’ 2024 campaign, but these are a few good starting points.

It’s been well documented that the Rabbitohs sat top of the ladder after 11 rounds of 2023, but the decline since then has been alarming. Their form fell off a cliff in the second half of that campaign, and any hopes that they could turn it around in 2024 quickly disappeared.

One win from the opening eight rounds saw head coach, Jason Demetriou, put out of his misery, but three straight losses after his departure meant there was no immediate bounce back for interim coach, Ben Hornby.

The Rabbitohs did rally briefly to win five straight games between rounds 12 and 18, and there was a genuine chance of them squeezing into finals contention. However, after seeing off the Tigers in round 20, they went on their worst run of the season to lose seven straight, and in their last few games of the campaign they looked as though they’d already got the sunloungers out for the summer.

Since those heady days of 2023 when they sat on the top, they’ve won just 11 of 37 games. Hopes will be high for a big turnaround in 2025.

Highs

Five straight wins in the middle of the year brought the top eight into view for a brief moment, and the Bunnies will always have their Vegas trip to look back on, when they played their part in an entertaining loss against Manly.

Their 12-46 win on the Gold Coast in round 14 was their best performance and biggest win of the year, but highlights were in short supply for Souths in 2024.

The announcement of Wayne Bennett’s return for 2025 was one of the few high points, and it tied in with their brief upturn in form.

On the playing front, Jye Gray has been one of the more promising youngsters in the side, while Cam Murray’s commitment and dedication to the cause can never be questioned. If only there were 16 more players like him every week, the Bunnies would be a shoo-in for the finals.

Lows

It’s been one thing after another this year at Souths, although much of it has been self-inflicted.

Jason Demetriou’s sacking had been inevitable since their dramatic drop-off in 2023. Whilst it’s admirable they stuck with him at the start of the campaign, maybe he should have gone sooner, as by the time he left, they had a mountain to climb already.

Injuries took their toll on the Rabbitohs in 2024 as well. Campbell Graham missed the whole season, Isaiah Tass only managed to make eight appearances, and Lachlan Ilias broke his leg early in the year. Jai Arrow and Alex Johnston were both missing for large chunks of the campaign too.

In the case of Ilias, he’d already been dropped to reserve grade, but the Bunnies’ lack of a stable pairing in the halves no doubt contributed to the team’s poor form.

Star full-back Latrell Mitchell only managed 11 appearances too, for a variety of reasons. When he was on form, he was unstoppable, but there were more bad games than good, and he’s already set to miss round one in 2025 through suspension for an off-field incident.

Reasons to be positive in 2025

Two words – Wayne Bennett. If the old master wasn’t heading back to Redfern in 2025 then I’d have serious doubts about the Rabbitohs’ chances of getting back into finals contention next year.

However, Bennett’s return will be a huge boost for the Bunnies, and they’ll be in with a good chance of the top eight next year.

If the likes of Campbell Graham and Isaiah Tass are fit again too, plus a fit and firing Latrell Mitchell, then there are plenty of reasons for optimism, although a lot of ifs, buts and maybes right now.

My 2024 prediction – 7th

Final 2024 position – 16th (-9)

I had a shocker with this one. Maybe it was naive to think that Souths could turn things around so much after their collapse in 2023, but on paper at least, they still went into the year with a top eight squad.

Frankly, 16th was an embarrassment for the Bunnies, and how they managed to squeeze into the bottom two when they didn’t even play in the ‘Spoon Bowl’ in round 27 is beyond me.

Things can only get better for them in 2025, surely?