South Sydney are reportedly set to swing the ax and sack assistant coaches Sam Burgess and John Morris just two weeks before the end of the regular season.
The Rabbitohs were top of the leaderboard in Round 11, but after just four wins, eight losses and two byes in the last 14 weeks, the side is set for a round-to-round duel with the Roosters of just it's about the winner 27.
In this case, it will depend on the Roosters beating the Tigers in round 26, while the Cowboys can still be a spoilsport if they win both games as it would all come down to point difference.
But whatever, the Rabbitohs made it from the penthouse to the finals.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Burgess and Morris were concerned that coach Jason Demetriou was giving Latrell preferential treatment to Mitchell and Cody Walker.
The report said the Rabbitohs leaders held meetings throughout the day to discuss the couple's immediate future.
Speaking of the Fox League NRL 360David Riccio believed a decision would be made later Tuesday night as to whether Burgess and Morris would move on immediately.
However, he said it was up to the Souths board.
“It's a bombastic moment – Sam Burgess is a king in South Sydney,” agreed Paul Crawley. “John Morris is an assistant coach.
“I can see why there needs to be a change here if they're on a different side than Jason Demetriou, but if that's the case then that's Jason Demetriou's line in the sand moment.”
“It's a very bold move, but I believe it could potentially be deadly given the personality of Sam Burgess.
“He has absolute respect from all the players, he has respect within the club, from Russell Crowe and at all levels, and if you push him aside and they lose to the Roosters next week and miss the final, I'm telling you next year will he's working as a coach for his future.”
Braith Anasta said the Rabbitohs had been “terrible,” while Gorden Tallis questioned why they made the decision when there were two games left in the regular season.
Riccio said the problem was “harmony at the level of the coaching staff,” adding that without that harmony the team could not advance to the final.
He added that Demetriou had signed on a long-term basis while Burgess Warrington would coach in the British Super League and Morris “won't be there next year anyway” as he has been linked with a move to the Tigers.
It comes a day after Demetriou dismissed rumors following the Rabbitohs' rapid decline this season.
“We're not winning any football games at the moment, so the rumor mill is running at full speed,” Demetriou said on Monday.
“Latrell Mitchell was out for 12 weeks. So if he ran the show during that time, I don't know what the problem was.
“They are two very influential players in a group, but they are part of a group. The only way to answer this question is by winning football matches.
“There's a lot of talk at the moment. That's because we don't win.”
It was an explosive day for the club, with Demetriou apologizing to Jacob Host after liking a comment on Instagram criticizing the striker.
It also comes after Mitchell was caught drinking a beer on stage with country singer Luke Combs last week.
