In the modern day NRL, there’s generally an easy way to tell the difference between a head coach and his assistants at a training session: the boss stands back and watches, only interjecting when they feel the need, while the assistants do the rest.
On Sunday, David Furner mostly stood behind the goalposts at a public oval in front of a handful of onlookers, watching and learning if there’s any way to resurrect South Sydney’s dismal season and by extension coach Jason Demetriou’s career.
After a torrid fortnight in which Demetriou was spared the axe, one of the NRL’s most popular characters has ridden back into Redfern, trying to figure out the game’s most complex problem: what is wrong with South Sydney?
Maybe it’s not a stretch to think the addition of Furner to Demetriou’s coaching staff during the bye week – in which the Rabbitohs had to swallow a 1-5 start to the season – could have more bearing on South Sydney’s fortunes than the imminent return of Latrell Mitchell.
As Demetriou stalked his team around the field at Maroubra, barking instructions and admonishing the likes of Taane Milne or Izaac Thompson if he didn’t feel their intensity matched his demands during the session, Furner just watched. And watched. And watched.
He looked down at a couple of notes in his hand, at one stage offering a quiet word of advice to 20-year-old fullback Jye Gray. When the session finished, he swapped pointers with captain Cameron Murray and joked with Jack Wighton, the player he handed an NRL debut to more than a decade ago, after Wighton sat out most of the session.
But it’s already clear how much of an influence he will have on Demetriou, who sidled up to his new assistant before anyone else at the end of training, with the pair then making the long walk back to their Heffron Park base together.
While the signs on the training field suggest Demetriou is taking on a far greater hands-on role, Furner’s imprints are being imparted behind closed doors.
“It’s always good to get an outside perspective,” Murray said. “Sometimes you get caught up in your own routines and your own monotonous schedule.
“Without giving away anything, it’s things that we’re normally good at, and we haven’t been good at [that’s he’s highlighted]. What he said to improve on, we all knew. It’s just good to hear it from a different person and somebody that comes in, using some stern, direct feedback and criticism to jolt us into ways to get better at it. It’s things that are part of the DNA at this club that we haven’t been putting on the field.
South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou and (inset) David Furner.
“He’s got a very particular style of coaching and when he talks, everyone listens. He grabs a room when he talks. All the eyes and ears are focused on him. He’s going to be great for us.”
No team has a worse defensive record in the NRL this season than South Sydney. The Rabbitohs are conceding almost 33 points per game. As Demetriou pushed a theme of not carrying divots to his players during training, Furner has come to fill the porous holes that have led to the Rabbitohs’ predicament.
While Mitchell’s voice could be heard over all others as he urged his teammates on during training, the quietest man on the park kept making mental notes, regularly assessing from behind the defensive line.
“He’s calm, but very precise in what he’s doing,” halfback Dean Hawkins said. “He’ll touch on more as the season goes on, but there’s a lot of focus on our defensive work and our wrestle [since he’s come in].”
On Anzac Day, the Rabbitohs will start a difficult stretch in which they face the Storm at AAMI Park before hosting three-time premiers Penrith and then taking on the improving Dragons.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy was a game-week ally for Demetriou, given the intense speculation about his future. Furner has been a sounding board for many young coaches as an assistant over the years, but getting the best out of the Rabbitohs – and Demetriou - could prove his toughest task.
“I feel for the guys when they do come under that sort of pressure because I know how quickly things deteriorate if you get some injuries and things don’t go your way,” Bellamy told the Big Sports Breakfast Weekend.
“There’s little whispers go around, and it can be very hard and very distracting. You need to be narrow-focused and focus on what you need to do.”
That’s where Furner comes in – and he might help a coach keep his job.
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