Coming off the bye last week, youngster Jye Gray has just two games to prove himself as the Rabbitohs primary fullback before Latrell Mitchell returns to the team.
Debuting two weeks ago against the Cronulla Sharks, Gray put up a valiant effort in the number one jersey, recording 172 running metres in the absence of Mitchell, despite spending 15 minutes off the field for a HIA.
An impressive junior, Gray is only 20 years old but has become the future of the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
If he continues performing well in the next two games against the Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panthers, Jason Demetriou will have no option but to keep him on the team.
While a return to the centres for Mitchell may not be what he had in mind, it would allow the club to have a formidable edge on both sides of the field - Mitchell on one side and Jack Wighton on the other.
It would also allow Mitchell to have more of an impact in short bursts, something he did so well at the Roosters and which has made the likes of Joseph Manu, Kotoni Staggs, and Stephen Crichton into world-class players.
“It's Jye's spot at the moment, and if he keeps playing well, he's every chance to keep it,” Demetriou told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“You never know in rugby league. Who is available in another two weeks' time might be different to who is available now.
“I just want him to focus on each week. He'll get a good prep going down to Melbourne, which will help.
“He's obviously got speed, and he's a real threat who can make a lot of metres for a little bloke. He would have finished with over 200m the other night had he stayed on the field.
“There's more to come from him, and once he gets settled in, and we get more quality ball to him, he'll be even better again.
“We said before the game he had earned the right to be here, and he should go out and enjoy it. One game was not going to define him. It's just the start.”
Recently inking a contract extension until the end of the 2026 season, the fullback, who also plays five-eighth, admitted that Latrell Mitchell has played a major role in helping him develop as a player.
“Trell helped me with my nerves pre-game. He came up to me and said, ‘back yourself'," Gray told the publication.
"During the week he also helped guide me around. I only moved to fullback earlier this year, and he was telling me where I needed to be positioned.”
The Rabbitohs will face the Melbourne Storm away from home this week, with their opponents coming off a big victory against the Sydney Roosters.
Both teams will hope that the NRL Bunker will play a minimal role in the contest after it was at the forefront of the Storm's latest victory.
“It's really clear, they (the NRL) came out at the end of the year and if you lend weight to a tackler in a stationary or forward momentum, then it'll be stopped,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said post-match after the Storm were awarded a try after a confusing illegal tackle.
“Or if it's in a try it's going to be a penalty.
“It's really quite simple, he (Asofa-Solomona) runs in from distance, touches his player and Jenko (Jennings) and his player scores.
“Did he lend weight to the play? Yes he did.”
