It has been revealed a “multi-millionaire supporter and third party sponsor” of the Rabbitohs approached Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga to gauge his interest in the club’s caretaker role, but Souths boss Blake Solly says it was not done on behalf of the club.
With rumours swirling last week that Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou was on borrowed time, it was reported that Meninga was being sought out as the top target take over on an interim basis for the rest of 2024 if Demetriou was given the sack.
That has seemingly been put on hold though, with Solly and the Rabbitohs refraining from wielding the axe and sparing Demetriou for at least the short-term after the team’s spirited performance against Cronulla on Saturday night.
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield revealed that it was a man named Steve Misecki, otherwise known as “The Art Dealer”, who called Meninga last week.
“South Sydney have a multi-millionaire supporter. His name is Steve Nasteski. He is better known in rugby league circles as “The Art Dealer”. He’s a third party sponsor of the club, a very, very successful man,” Rothfield said Monday morning on the Big Sports Breakfast radio program.
“He was the person who rang Mal Meninga last week and said ‘would you be interested in taking on the job if JD (Jason Demetriou) was to go?’
“Now I’m told Mal said yes, I’m very interested. But to Mal’s credit, he said he was not interested in talking about it while JD was still employed as head coach.
“If there was to be movement, if there was to be sacked, come back and have another chat.
“Mal I know for a fact did not knock them back, but said I’m not going to go further down the track in negotiations. Mal’s a good person, he’s not going to backstab anyone. He wanted clear water before he was to jump into that job.”
Rothfield then said he asked Solly whether Nasteski if he was acting on behalf of Souths when he made the call to Meninga, which the CEO denied, with the veteran journalist revealing that Nateski has form.
“I asked Blake Solly outside of the interview if Steve was acting on behalf of the club. Steve was the one with Sam Burgess last year who met Dom Young on the Gold Coast and convinced him to join the Rabbitohs, but the club didn’t go ahead with that,” Rothfield continued.
“Blake Solly insists he (Nasteski) wasn’t acting for the club, so that’s where it stands there.”
While it appears for now that Demetriou’s job is safe for the next few weeks at least, the last-placed Rabbitohs face an almighty climb to get back into finals contention.
The Bunnies have lost five of six, with a much-needed by to come next weekend. However, it looks fairly grim after that, with tough games against the Storm and Panthers on the slate.
Rothfield said he pressed Solly on whether Demetriou, who is signed through to the end of the 2026 season, can feel any sort of security or comfort for this year at least.
“What I found disappointing from his (Solly’s) answers is that there is enormous uncertainty at the Rabbitohs for the remainder of the season,” Rothfield said.
“He will not guarantee he would see out the rest of the year, let alone the whole three years of his contract.
“I thought they played with much more heart against the Sharks, but the scoreline will tell you they lost and gave up 34 points.
“It was chaos though. They had injuries and players play out of position.
“It doesn’t take away from the fact that Blake has not completely shut down speculation around the coach.”
Master coach Wayne Bennett, who was at the helm at South Sydney from 2019-2021, is rumoured to be in contention to return next season considering his contract with the Dolphins ends after the 2024 campaign.
Rothfield said amid South Sydney’s apparent uncertainty around Demetriou, Solly wouldn’t be doing his “due dilligence” if he didn’t meet with Bennett.
“It’s a tough one for Souths, because if they were genuine about making a change, Blake Solly would not be doing his job if he didn’t jump on a plane to Brisbane, have a coffee with Wayne and at least do his due dilligence and ask if he was available,” he said.
“Souths are not looking apart from this Meninga approach. What concerns me is that Wayne is unemployed as of next year and I have a feeling there are other clubs that might be interested in his services and Souths could end up missing out on him.
“The other part of the interview I did like was that Blake Solly took full responsibility for the position the club finds itself in at the moment. And while we can talk about, that yeah under the circumstances they played strong the other night, the bottom line is that after Round 6 they are last with 1 win from 6 games.
“I don’t see where the JD speculation is going to go away anytime soon.”
