New Southern Districts coach Jayson Brewer is confident the Rebels can put last year’s disappointing season behind them and move up the ladder and into finals contention again in 2023.

The Rebels sacked coach Todd Louden half way through 2022 after the veteran coaches’ costly “High Performance Rugby Program” failed to yield results.

Off the field, the club’s targeted focus on first grade success also led to a fairly public falling out with Southern Districts’ successful women’s 7s program and a not for profit designed to support rugby in southern Sydney.

But Brewer, a former assistant coach of the Fijian national side, said he didn’t find a club in turmoil when he arrived at Forshaw in November last year.

“Obviously things didn’t go to plan at Souths over the past few seasons, but it seems the club drew a line in the sand midway through last year,” Brewer told Rugby News.