'It's personal': Wayne Bennett's defiant argument in icy presser

"Not very good."

Those were Wayne Bennett's words after his Rabbitohs side was flogged by the Knights at Magic Round.

However, the coach was slightly more expansive later in his press conference when questioned about South Sydney's attitude amid a four-match losing streak.

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"Of course it is (about attitude)," he said.

Bennett then had an exchange with a reporter about how to solve the issue with the coach suggesting it was not up to him.

"How do I fix your attitude? I can't. Can I fix your attitude? I can't," he said.

"It's personal.

"They have to fix it. They have to own it first."

Stand-in Rabbitohs captain Tevita Tatola agreed.

"It's an attitude thing," he said.

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"We've got to be honest with ourselves. We've all got to have a good reality check when we get home."

With a host of players out including Jamie Humphreys and Cody Walker, all the attention for the Rabbitohs was on Englishman Lewis Dodd.

The halfback was starting for the first time since arriving but struggled to put his mark on the match.

Dodd made 80 metres from 12 runs but missed four tackles. Known for his kicking, the half only did so on six occasions for 139 metres. His halves partner, Jayden Sullivan, kicked for 407 metres from 13 kicks.

Bennett wasn't overly critical, though, when asked about Dodd's performance.

"He was like a lot of other players out there - he wasn't at his best," he said.