The whispers of a potential Roosters switch have surrounded Cameron Murray recently. But the Rabbitohs star remains committed to South Sydney.
Murray, 22, is one of the NRL's most exciting forwards and told The Daily Telegraph recently that he not only wants to remain with South Sydney for the foreseeable future, but he wants to reach new levels in his game alongside fellow livewire Cody Walker.
Murray is being moved to left edge this season despite being named 2019 Lock of the year, a controversial switch that is set debuted this weekend.
Media personalities, including Triple M's Mark Geyer, have suggested that Murray will be "wasted" in his new role, but Murray believes he will be an even better player outside of Walker.
“Cody Walker is the game’s best attacking five-eighth,” Murray said. “And the best eyes up player (anywhere).
“Over the past couple of years, he’s proved himself a great ball player, a great leader and one of the few playmakers in the NRL who can really square up a (defensive) line.
“Cody not only goes to the line, he puts himself under pressure to put others in better positions.
“And I want to capitalise on that.
“Want to capitalise on his eyes up footy too.
“Cody’s wonderful playing off the cuff and my support will have to be really strong so that he gets the options he needs.”
Although he is still contracted at the Rabbitoh's for the next two years, there have been rumours circulating recently that Murray could sign a deal with the Roosters.
“Those rumours, they’ve been around for a couple of months. And while I have no idea where the talk is coming from, I can tell you it isn’t true.
“There has been nothing from me, my manager or my camp.
“I’ve got another two years here at South Sydney and that’s what I’m focused on.
“I couldn’t be more excited about what’s about to happen here.”
Asked if the rumours were starting to get to Murray, he continued to say: “What’s the point of me getting upset?
“There is nothing I can do about it.
“I’ll focus on are those things I can control, starting with the next training session here at Souths.”
Geyer's issues with Murray's move to left edge lay within the attacking side of the game, with the move having the potential to negatively impact the Rabbitoh's attacking game because Murray's strong passing ability and quick play-the-balls would be under-used.
When asked about the thought process behind the move, Murray continued: “Wayne says for our pack to be as effective as possible, my best position is left edge.
“And I agree.
“There’s a great opportunity for me outside Cody, plus it also allows Liam Knight to grab that number 13 jersey and become the player we all know he can be.
“We’ve worked hard throughout the pre-season and, this week, I’m really just looking forward to getting out to Mudgee and making it all a reality.”