FORMER Keighley Cougars player-coach Jason Demetriou has been sacked by South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The NRL side appointed the Australian at the start of the 2022 season and came seventh to qualify for the eight-team Finals Series.

And Demetriou impressed many observers by leading them to stunning away wins at Sydney Roosters and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

That left the Rabbitohs just one win away from the Grand Final, but they failed to make it after losing 32-12 to eventual champions Penrith in the preliminary finals.

But last season was a disappointing one for Demetriou and his side, who came ninth and missed out on the Finals Series, when one more win would have seen them finish above eighth-placed Canberra Raiders.

And this season so far has been disastrous, with the Rabbitohs currently bottom of the table after just one win from their opening seven games.

That is nowhere near good enough for a side with designs on reaching the Finals Series, and the South Sydney board have acted decisively and sacked Demetriou.

Bizarrely, given the vast difference in quality between the English third tier and the world-leading NRL, Demetriou’s only head coach roles in his career have been with Keighley and South Sydney.

After spending seven successful seasons with Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, during which he became the first Australian player without NRL experience to captain a Super League team, he moved to Keighley as a player-coach ahead of their 2011 campaign in Championship 1.

Demetriou led the side to a runners-up finish, and Cougars joined champions Swinton Lions in being promoted to the second tier after winning the play-off final 32-12 against Workington Town.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: James Feather (left) and Will Cartledge lift the Championship 1 play-off final trophy for Cougars in October 2011. James Feather (left) and Will Cartledge lift the Championship 1 play-off final trophy for Cougars in October 2011. (Image: Charlie Perry.)

Not only that, but Demetriou was named man-of-the-match after a masterful display.

And Cougars had a fine season under their Australian player-coach in the Championship in 2012, winning eight and drawing one of their 18 league games to sneak into the six-team play-offs.

They were given little chance of winning at Halifax, who had won 14 of their 18 league games to finish third, in the first round of those play-offs.

But Keighley put in a fine display at the Shay, before eventually losing 28-24.

Demetriou returned to Australia in 2013, becoming the head coach for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup, before moving into the NRL ahead of the 2015 season as assistant coach at North Queensland Cowboys.

He then joined St George Illawarra Dragons in a hybrid role, assisting the first team while head coach of the club’s NSW Cup feeder team, Illawarra Cutters.

Demetriou won the Grand Final with the Cutters in 2016, helping to earn him a move to Wayne Bennett’s Brisbane Broncos as their attacking coach.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Wayne Bennett was also England's head coach during his time at Brisbane and South Sydney with Jason Demetriou.Wayne Bennett was also England's head coach during his time at Brisbane and South Sydney with Jason Demetriou. (Image: PA.)

In December 2018, he joined head coach Bennett in moving to South Sydney, taking on the role of assistant.

In February 2020, Bennett announced he would be leaving the Rabbitohs at the end of the 2021 NRL campaign, with the club confirming that Demetriou would take over as head coach from the 2022 season onwards.

Demetriou departs South Sydney having won 29 of his 58 NRL games in charge of the club.