2026 Football Department Changes
16th October 2025
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have made a number of changes to its Football department ahead of the 2026 season.
Jack Milligan has been promoted to the position of High Performance Manager, having been the Club’s NRL Strength and Conditioning Coach for the past six seasons, replacing former Head of Performance, Trent Elkin, who stepped away from the Club at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Corey Bocking will replace Milligan in the role of Head of Strength, Conditioning and Sports Science. Bocking joins the Rabbitohs from the Penrith Panthers where he has been the NRL Physical Preparation Lead for the past four seasons. He also has previous experience with the NSW Waratahs rugby union team, West Indies cricket team and Australian tennis. Sam Pervan moves into the NRL Strength and Conditioning Coach position. Head of Sports Science, Brendan Fahrner, will finish up with the Rabbitohs at the end of 2025, having made the decision to move home to Victoria for family reasons.
Davis Theobold has joined the Rabbitohs’ physiotherapy team as NRL Senior Physiotherapist. Theobold joins South Sydney from the St George Illawarra Dragons where he has worked for the past six seasons as the Head of Rehabilitation and Head Physiotherapist. Theobald will replace former Rehabilitation Physiotherapist, Vicki Locke, who has finished up her tenure with South Sydney.
Football Logistics and Facilities Manager, Brian Stow, will return to the Rabbitohs after a stint in the UK with Hull Kingston Rovers. Kyle Furner will shift into the Operations, Facilities and Pathways Support Officer role, as well as joining the Club’s pathways coaching staff.
Head Coach Wayne Bennett, NRL Assistant Coaches Ben Hornby and Steve Antonelli, Development Coach John Sutton, Head of Recruitment and Retention Mark Ellison, NRL Football Manager Jason Clark, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Andrew McDonald, Head Physiotherapist Crawford Quinn, Rabbitohs Clinic Head Physiotherapist Cuan Neyland, Football and Recruitment Analyst Leigh Richardson, Head of Wellbeing Ian Reeves, NRL Career Coach Ryan Gonsalves, Nutritionist Tegan Buchanan, Head of Pathways David Furner, NSW Cup Coach Wayne Collins, Recruitment Manager Brent Hill, Pathways Head of Performance Tom Watkins, Pathways and Women’s Operations Manager Rob Capizzi, and Pathways Head of Medical Bernie Chau will all continue in their roles in the new season.
"We would like to thank those staff members that have departed from our Club at the end of the season. They all made valuable contributions to our Football Department and we wish them the best of luck in the future," Rabbitohs CEO, Blake Solly, said. "We would like to congratulate those staff members that have earned promotions, as well as those who are new to our Club, as we chart a path back towards the top four for our NRL squad, as well as building a robust pathway to help deliver future Rabbitohs into our NRL system. We have the utmost confidence in our football department coaches and staff, led by Wayne (Bennett), to return the Club to the right end of the competition ladder, and to produce future first graders through our pathways systems. Our players will start to return to training as a group from early November and we look forward to them preparing for their premiership campaign in season 2026."
Ref - SSFC [Viewed 16 Oct 2025] / FN-1
2026 Pathway Coaching Appointments
17th November 2025
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have announced their coaching staff for their pathways teams ahead of the 2026 seasons which will commence in February. All Head Coaches from last year’s pathways teams are returning in 2026, with some changes made to support staff. Former South Sydney NRL player, Eddie Paea, joins the NSW Cup coaching staff in 2026 as an Assistant Coach, having been part of the Club’s SG Ball Cup coaching staff last season. Former Rabbitohs first grader, Ben Lovett, joins the coaching staff of the Jersey Flegg Cup team, a role which he had a taste of last season whilst working through his knee rehabilitation.
NSW Cup (Open Men’s) Head Coach: Wayne Collins Assistant Coaches: Jason Peterson, Eddie Paea Team Manager: Dave Sheargold Strength & Conditioning Coach: Tom Watkins Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach: Cooper O’Donnell Physiotherapist: Bernie Chau Sports Scientist: Ethan Hollie Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s – Men’s) Head Coach: Scott Kenna Assistant Coaches: Josh Parker, Ben Lovett, Yileen Gordon Team Manager: Kane Clark Strength & Conditioning Coach: Nick Railz Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach: Katie Wightwick Physiotherapist: Brodey Castle
Ref - SSFC [Viewed 30 Nov 2025] / FN-1