‘He’s a sh-t coach’: Cam Murray’s hilarious jab at Ben Hornby as Souths players back the Dragons legend to be their next coach
A tricky stint at South Sydney has convinced players Ben Hornby should be the next Dragons coach, although one star is trying his best to keep him at the club.
South Sydney players have thrown their support behind current assistant Ben Hornby to take over at the Dragons, with skipper Cameron Murray initially joking that he was a “sh-t coach” before explaining how important he’s been for the club.
Hornby is one of the leading candidates to replace Shane Flanagan after he was axed on Monday following their 0-7 start to the year.
Former teammate Dean Young has been appointed interim coach for the remainder of 2026 and is another option to coach them next year.
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The pair are both St George Illawarra legends, with Hornby the captain when they won the 2010 title.
The former halfback made the smooth transition to coaching and has been at the Rabbitohs since 2020, with Hornby stepping in as interim coach in 2024 for 17 games after Jason Demetriou was sacked.
The club could have spiralled at that point, but Hornby got them back on track with five-straight wins at one point before he resumed his role as an assistant when Wayne Bennett returned last year.
“I reckon he’s a shit coach and I reckon he needs to stay here,” Murray joked on Tuesday morning.
“I haven’t told him that yet, but in all honesty, he had a little stint as head coach here a couple years ago and I couldn’t fault him.
“It was like he’s been doing it for 20 years. He’s a pretty incredible guy and any club would be lucky to have him as a head coach.
“I think his simple approach to coaching is probably what helped us through that time period. “He knew, contextually to that period, that simplicity was probably the best thing for us, and he kept it really simple for us.
“There was a lot of noise on the outside, probably a lot that was going on the inside as well, so his calm, simple approach helped us a lot.
“It’s probably what he’s learned best from Wayne, the simple fundamentals of what creates good footy teams and just being consistent with that.
“That’s probably what kept a lid on things back when he took over in ‘24 and probably why we bounced back the way that we did.”
Edge forward Tallis Duncan praised Hornby for his ability to make the complex feel simple and backed him to become a head coach.
“If that’s something that he wants to do, I think he’d be great. I think he’s got all the makings of a head coach and he’s a great person,” he said.
“His footy IQ is probably second to none, he’s pretty intelligent. So I think if that’s something that he wants to do, I think he’d be unreal at it.
“The way he can break down the game (is terrific). He was obviously such a smart footballer when he played, but I feel like sometimes that wouldn’t translate to explaining it down to probably dumb forwards.
“But he’s got that ability too, so he can break down the game in a way to make everyone understand it. I think that’s important and he’s pretty clear with his messaging.”
Try-scoring machine Alex Johnston also thinks it’s inevitable that Hornby will lead a team in the NRL after seeing him handle the 2024 situation so well.
“His hair probably got grey a lot quicker just those few games,” he joked.
“He handled himself really well. I definitely think head coach is where he’s headed. I just don’t know where.”
