Jason Demetriou expects to keep his job despite another loss to Cronulla Sharks: ‘No one has told me otherwise’

Jason Demetriou insists he expects to hold on to his job as South Sydney coach despite a gutsy Rabbitohs unable to deliver a pressure-less win against Cronulla.

Down to one man on the bench at half-time, Souths did well to stay in the contest before going down 34-22 at the Accor Stadium on Saturday night.

But keen as they may have been with captain Cameron Murray (concussion) among the injured, the Bunnies remain bottom of the table with five wins from their last 19 games.

Souths chairman Nick Pappas had said ahead of the game that they needed to show a newfound confidence, stability and determination to win.

Souths did well to stay in the contest before going down 34-22 at the Accor Stadium

Otherwise, the club would have to “think hard”.

How bosses assess the latest loss and their last 11 months of football will now determine Demetrious’s fate ahead of the Rabbitohs’ bye next weekend.

When asked after the defeat if he still expected to be a coach, Demetriou replied: ‘I expect so. No one has told me otherwise.

‘We’ll go through the game, show up and if not, we’ll figure it out.’

Demetriou was also adamant he was proud of his team, which managed to fight back from 16 points down in the second half to make it a six-point game late on.

It came despite early injuries to Tevita Tatola (possible broken foot) and Tyrone Munro (clavicle), and with debutant Jye Gray impressing at full-back either side of his own HIA.

But still the drums have been beating at Redfern, in a week when club bosses were forced to deny claims a shortlist of candidates to replace Demetriou had been prepared.

“It’s not ideal, and don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to go through this,” Demetriou said.

Souths now sit bottom of the table after six games, but Demetriou says he is proud of their recent performance

Demetriou says he understands the pressure because Souths are not getting results

‘But the reality is it’s elite sport, we’re a huge club, I’m disappointed that our members and supporters are hearing some of the things that aren’t just accurate.

‘But I understand why the noise is there. It’s results driven and we don’t get the results.’

Meanwhile, Mal Meninga has denied being approached by Souths for the top job.

“I haven’t had any talks with the club at all, but for some reason I’ve apparently been linked to this,” Meninga explained on Fox League.

Demetriou said he would spend time with his family on Sunday but insisted he had not been put off by the scenario.

‘I don’t want to walk around with my head down. I have no reason to, he said.

“I have worked my backside to get into this position as head coach of one of the biggest rugby league clubs in the world.”

The most worrying thing for Souths on Saturday was still their defence.

Since sitting atop the NRL ladder last May, they have now conceded 26 points or more in 15 of those games.

With Latrell Mitchell suspended, Alex Johnston injured and Damien Cook dropped for the Bunnies, Ronaldo Mulitalo ran riot for Cronulla.

The Sharks winger bagged a double in the win, while also making two other tries.

His first came when he cut inside the field to beat three men from a scrum, and another after Braydon Trindall chipped for him with fill-in full-back Jack Wighton up the line.

Mulitalo’s game of the night was a wild assist as he leapt high to collect a Nicho Hynes bomb and clear an offload while falling for Teig Wilton to score.

And after both sides traded tries after the break to make it 22-12, it was Mulitalo who put the Cronulla 16 clear when he parried a Trindall kick for Wilton to get their second.

Burgess and Isaiah Tass then both scored in the space of six minutes late on to give Souths some hope, but a Blayke Brailey four-pointer sealed the game and put Cronulla first on the ladder.