Former South Sydney supremo Shane Richardson has detailed how a master succession plan hatched by the club has led to Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou taking on his old mentor Wayne Bennett.
The Dolphins, coached by Bennett, host the Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night in a match laden with storylines around the two coaches.
Demetriou was Bennett's assistant at Brisbane for two seasons in 2017 and 2018 and for three years at the Rabbitohs before taking over as head coach in 2022.
Bennett signed a three-year deal with the Rabbitohs after the Broncos sacked him at the end of 2018.
Richardson, the club's general manager of football at the time, explained what happened next.
"We told Wayne up front that we would appoint an assistant coach who would take over as head coach once his three years were up," Richardson told AAP.
"We knew we had to have someone of quality after Wayne. We interviewed four candidates and got Jason Demetriou.
"We did the same thing when we appointed John Lang for two years as coach in 2010. We told Langy no matter what happened, whether we won a premiership or not, that he'd be going out in two years.
"That enabled us to go out in the market place without going behind John's back. It worked out well when I appointed Michael Maguire."
Maguire took the 2014 Rabbitohs team to premiership glory.
Richardson, who is now a consultant to the Brisbane Firehawks NRL bid, hopes Demetriou can do the same after he won him over in the interview.
"I was impressed by Jason's pedigree. I am a believer you've got to coach your own teams before you become an NRL coach," Richardson said.
"He'd coached Northern Pride in Cairns and Illawarra Cutters to Queensland Cup and NSW premierships and won the NRL State Championship with both.
"He had a great understanding of pathways and he'd done the tough yards."
The plan was for Demetriou to take over from Bennett no matter what.
"It worked out well for Wayne because he knew exactly what the circumstances were," Richardson said.
"We treated him well. He treated us well, and we made a grand final (in 2021). Then Demetriou took over.
"They get on really well. JD knows Wayne backwards. It will be a good clash Thursday night and I am sure they will be in each other's dressing rooms afterwards. The South Sydney players will welcome Wayne too."
Demetriou led the Rabbitohs to the preliminary final in 2022 in his first year as head coach.
This year Bennett has taken the Dolphins into the top four after moving straight back into coaching after his Rabbitohs stint.
"The next NRL team was always going to come from Queensland. There were three applicants, all from Queensland. All three were going to appoint Wayne as coach," Richardson said.
"The ability to come home to Queensland to his family worked out really well for Wayne and he will finish his career here."
