For more than two years, South Sydney recruitment chief Mark Ellison had his sights on Jamie Humphreys.

It took persistence, patience and a meal at The Oaks Hotel to finally land the quietly spoken playmaker, one who's now justifying every ounce of that effort with his early-season rise.

Humphreys was always on the radar. Ellison's first approach came during the young half's time at Manly, where the family name already carried weight (his father Steve had served as Sea Eagles CEO and his grandfather Kevin had worn the club's jersey in the 1950s).

But when the offer landed, Humphreys knocked it back. Loyalty, not opportunity, was his guiding principle.

“He considered it,” Ellison recalled, speaking with Newscorp.

“At the time I understood why he wanted to stay. He wanted to have a crack. It said to me that he is a loyal kid.”

But behind Daly Cherry-Evans, genuine first-grade minutes proved elusive.

In the end, a second approach succeeded. The deal was signed over lunch with Ellison and Humphreys' manager George Mimis, even though Souths had already locked in English import Lewis Dodd.

“There's no BS about him,” Ellison said simply.

For all the talk about Dodd's arrival, it's Humphreys who has worn the No.7 to start the season.

On modest money and with minimal fanfare, he's done more than hold his own - he's kicked a match-winning field goal, steered the side calmly under pressure and drawn praise from Wayne Bennett, who freely admits he knew little about him before the preseason.

“I think I said to him, ‘You'll be in the 17',” Bennett recalled.

“He's a wonderful trainer, a very, very well-mannered young man. He has a lot of lovely attributes besides playing football.”

The decision to sign Humphreys was never about depth. It was about recognising untapped potential in a footballer shaped by a lifetime around the game.

He grew up running the brutal Wanda sand hills, trained with the London Broncos while living in the UK and has quietly built a reputation for hard work and humility.

“He's up in the top 10 per cent of trainers in the club,” Bennett said.

That discipline came to the fore when Humphreys calmly slotted the winning field goal against the Dragons. While others had their heads elsewhere, it was the 22-year-old who seized the moment.

“In all fairness to the game, he was the only one thinking about it,” Bennett said.

“They had just gone to the other end and they didn't even attempt a field goal. Then we came back down and we weren't attempting one either.

"No one was thinking field goal except him.”

And he didn't celebrate it like a viral TikTok moment, either. Humphreys simply trotted back, got on with the job, and continued steering the side around like he belonged.

“I think he's got a brain that operates under pressure,” Bennett said.

“That's what I think. He's got the footy smarts and his mind's in the right place most of the time.”

Dodd, who returned from suspension in Round 3, remains a long-term investment for the Rabbitohs and is currently plying his trade in NSW Cup.

But for now, it's Humphreys who owns the jumper and the trust of the coach.