Inside Russell Crowe's Souths 'power struggle' with Aussie tech billionaire as Hollywood star's club battles its biggest drama in 20 years

Russell Crowe is reportedly locked in a power struggle with tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes as the Souths co-owners deal with the fallout from the biggest dramas to hit the club in 20 years.

The Hollywood star is widely credited with playing a leading role in making the Rabbitohs a footy force when he and businessman Peter Holmes a Court bought 75 per cent of the team in 2006.

He has since been joined by Cannon-Brookes and James Packer, with the trio now each having a 25 per cent stake in the club, with the remaining quarter owned by Souths members.

Recent events surrounding the sacking of Jason Demetriou after he presided over a shocking run of bad form have shown that Crowe's influence at the club is on the slide.

It has been revealed that the Gladiator star backed Demetriou to the hilt just hours before he was sacked on Tueday, telling him, 'I've got your back.'

But despite Crowe's eagerness for the coach to be given the chance to turn things around, the board unanimously voted to let him go.

The 60-year-old also reportedly tried to get former Bunnies CEO Shane Richardson to return to the club in what would amount to a huge vote of no confidence in current chief executive Blake Solly.

And he is barely on speaking terms with club chairman Nick Pappas, according to a Fox Sports, with the publication also claiming Crowe has had several phone conversations with 'supercoach' Wayne Bennett in an attempt to convince him to return to he team.

Pappas threw his weight behind Cannon-Brookes when he bought his stake in the Bunnies in November 2021, saying his addition to the top brass gave the club a foothold in the 'top end of town'.

'Mike is world-renowned for his business acumen and his philanthropy, both of which will provide great opportunity for the Rabbitohs,' Pappas said.

If Cannon-Brookes and his representative on the board, financial guru Kelly Morton, were on board with Crowe when it came to the vote on Demetriou's future, there's every chance he would still be with the Bunnies thanks to their combined voting power.

Cannon-Brookes and Morton are believed to be getting increasing support from Souths powerbrokers, and both have been seen in the dressing rooms recently as the club won just one of their first seven games to fall to last on the ladder.

After Demetriou's sacking, Solly denied there was any rift at the top level of the team.

'The fact that the decision was unanimous shows that they are seeing eye-to-eye on the decision,' he said, referring to the board.

'Any board that doesn't give something like this the due discussion and deliberation it deserves isn't doing their job ... that is the sign of a great board, not a board that is dysfunctional.'

Last year Crowe clashed with club great Sam Burgess when he accused Demetriou of giving stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker special treatment and not being tough enough on the team as a whole.

While the pair patched things up, it was an early sign of Crowe's desire to defend Demetriou despite strong signs - like the club falling from running first on the ladder after round 11 last year to missing out on the finals - that the team was sliding under his stewardship.

And while Crowe was still sticking to his guns on that front earlier this week, the rest of the powers that be - including Cannon-Brookes - were unequivocal in their call to move on.