Dragons' Jaydn Su'A yet to lock in a home for 2025 as Bennett shadow looms

The 26-year-old produced a self-described "shit" showing when the Dragons faced Bennett's Dolphins six weeks ago, but has been in stellar form since, with the Red V faithful imploring their club to lock the Maroons Origin prospect down long-term.

There could well be a greater sense of urgency given the Rabbitohs decision to sack Demetriou this week, with the Mastercoach the favourite to replace him from 2025 when his finite deal with the Dolphins concludes.

Su'A debuted under Bennett in the Broncos in 2016 and was lured south to the Rabbitohs to re-join his former mentor in 2019, reaching a prelim and grand final while making his Origin debut in the two years that followed.

Plenty have pointed to a lack of punch and depth in the Souths forward pack to explain the Rabbitohs position at the bottom of the ladder this year.

It makes Su'A, who remains without a deal for next year, the ideal recruitment target should Bennett pick up the phone.

Su'A said on Thursday that hasn't been the case while confirming he's still yet to secure his future.

"I've got a personal relationship with Wayne, he's someone I've got a lot of respect for, but I haven't spoken to him in a long time," Su'A said.

"I made my debut under Wayne and JD (Demetriou) was our assistant coach, so I've known him [as well]ever since I came into this league. He's a good guy and he's a better coach, so I feel for him.

"I'm pretty close with a few of the Souths boys and I know they all feel for him as well, but my focus at the moment is this Sunday (against Cronulla) and doing whatever we can to get that one for the fans.

"I finally saw my manager this morning and we had a good chat. Obviously I'll leave [my future] to him to sort it out and deal with it.

"My job is to play footy and get wins for this club. We're four-and-four now and we're going up against the front runners this week in the Sharkies."

While Bennett is known for getting his man in the recruitment stakes, Su'A has expressed a desire to remain and Dragon, saying he's "loving" life under Shane Flanagan.

"Flanno's been really good, especially for me personally," Su'A said.

"He's really honest. He tells you things that sometimes you don't want to hear but sometimes it's what you need to hear. He's a coach I like playing for and a coach the boys like.

"He's good to get along with. Some of the stories I hear, back in the day he was a bit hard to talk to but he throws a lot of stick around now so it's been easy."

The Bennett factor aside, Su'A's value may only increase as the season progresses should he earn a Queensland recall, having last featured in the Origin arena in 2021. It's a return he admittedly covets.

"I played Origin a few years ago now and it's definitely something that I want to get myself back into," he said.

"It's a game where all the best players in the game are playing and it's definitely something I want to be part of. The only way to be a part of that squad is to play well here and win games.

"Selection only comes with good performances and good form, and the big picture for me is finals footy. I want to be a part of those big moments and I want to play in those big games.

"That's something I care about and the only way to get there is by winning games week by week. That's the big picture."

Being on the wrong end of a 60-point pasting at the hands of the Roosters wasn't the best step in that direction last week, with Su'A saying his side needs to find a response in Sunday's local derby at Cronulla.

"It's hard, just getting rid of [the result]," Su'A said of the Roosters showing.

"Obviously we reviewed it and it wasn't nice. We've obviously pinpointed a few things that we need to work on and we've had a pretty tough week. It's the local derby, so tensions are going to be high regardless.

"It's going to be a tough job, there's no doubt about that. They've got an explosive back five that were ripping up last week. We did a bit of a video on them and we know it's going to be a tough game.

"We just really want to go out there and represent our club the way it should be represented."