Russell Crowe goes public with reason for self-imposed ban during South Sydney NRL games
The movie star made the admission when asked about his beloved team.
South Sydney Rabbitohs part-owner and movie icon Russell Crowe has revealed how he stopped showing emotion in public when attending games to avoid becoming the centre of attention at the club. Crowe was a regular at Rabbitohs games for years after the Gladiator star bought into the club as a part-owner in a bid to turn around its fortunes.
And he helped do just that with South Sydney winning the 2014 NRL premiership with coach Michael Maguire at the helm. Crowe has taken a step back in recent seasons and hasn't been the main focus of the broadcast when the Rabbitohs are doing well or poorly.
In the early years as part-owner, Crowe's reactions in the corporate box would be a feature for fans at the game or TV. Crowe was animated when watching his beloved side as he reacted to every play with passion from his box.
However, the actor has now claimed he doesn't show emotion anymore when watching in order not to distract the players. Speaking on NOVA 96.9 on Monday, host Fitzy asked if a loss to the Rabbitohs impacts his mood when playing for his band or in general.
And Crowe claimed he stopped reacting to make sure the players didn't read about it in the news so they could get on with their job of winning. "Nah...it is what it is, I can't affect that outcome so you sort of just have to accept what's going on," he told Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie.
"A long time ago when I'd be going to Rabbitohs games when my kids were little and stuff, and I realised that by showing my passion in the grandstands was potentially giving the media outlets a way of mentally affecting the team. There was all these photos of me strangling the imaginary referee.
"So, I thought, 'I'm gonna stop doing that'. I'd go to a game and see what happens then I'd go backstage and you can swear. But when I'm watching the game, I try and keep my cool...because you know I think about it from the players' perspective, they don't want to see the boss looking like he's pissed off in the Monday newspaper. So you've got to be cool about it."
Rabbitohs facing huge changes in 2025
The Rabbitohs missed out on the top eight again in 2024 with Latrell Mitchell facing a rollercoaster season. South Sydney started the season 1-6 under coach Jason Demetriou and Crowe was reportedly a huge supporter of the coach.
However, it wasn't enough with Demetriou ultimately departing the club. And Crowe and the board were able to convince master-coach Wayne Bennett to return to the fold. Bennett already appears to have made an impact at the club with Mitchell looking fitter than ever in pre-season training.
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Unfortunately, Bennett will be without Mitchell for round one of the 2025 NRL season with the fullback serving a one-game ban after a photo emerged of him with what appeared to be a white powder during a trip to Dubbo for some coaching clinics.
Regardless, Mitchell will be looking to improve upon his form in 2024 and lead his team with captain Cameron Murray set to miss a number of weeks to start the season. The second-rower injured his wrist playing for Australia and will miss the start of the season.
