4. Talking Points
'Trell Number One: Last year a lot of the off-season talk was about the best centre in the game making the move to fullback. Mitchell started slowly in 2020, even shifting back to centre on a few occasions, before really locking down the number one jersey.
Fair to say though by the end of the year he was a more than handy fullback. I believe their Premiership chances ended when Mitchell went down injured, despite Corey Allan's brilliant run in the number one jersey. If he plays the full season this year there's no reason he can't be a top two or three fullback.
Best spine in the game: I'm sure I'll be shouted down in the comments by Storm or Panthers fans, but in my opinion that Souths spine is the best in the game.
Damien Cook is arguably the best number nine in the league, while Cody Walker and Adam Reynolds form an all-star halves pairing. Throw in Latrell Mitchell at one and the red and green sit atop the 1, 6, 7 and 9 discussion.
If all four players fire then Souths won't lose many games. Yes, they'll need their forward to lay the foundation but Cook has 'blind and you'll miss it' speed while Walker can turn a game in a second.
Arrow/Murray Lock?: This is a huge question that will shape the season of two of their biggest stars. Cam Murray, for mine, is a top three or four lock in the game. As far as I'm concerned he's the undoubted starting 13 for the Bunnies for Round 1.
That said, there is a line of thinking to shift him back into the second row to allow marquee signing Jai Arrow to slot into his preferred spot at lock. Murray's impact was stifled when moving from the middle in 2020 so I think it would be ridiculous to shift one of the team's biggest weapons for anyone not named Jason Taumalolo.
Arrow can play prop or come off the bench, but you put your best pieces in the strongest position and that for me is Murray at 13.
