South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett reveals new plan for Origin star Cam Murray
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett is poised to pull a positional rabbit from his hat, shifting a young Origin star in a move which could open the door for a gun SuperCoach cheapie.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett says Cameron Murray’s move to a new position will make the lock more versatile and valuable to the Rabbitohs.
Bennett wants Murray, the reigning Dally M lock of the year, to play as an edge back-rower in 2020 to fill the void left by the departures of Sam Burgess and John Sutton.
Watch the 2020 NRL Nines tournament LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Kangaroos star Murray, 22, scored 12 tries in 26 appearances for the Rabbitohs in 2019.
Bennett says the positional switch will give the NRL club more flexibility, and that Murray will play in a mixture of positions.
“We want to make him more versatile and a bit more valuable to us in other ways,” Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He can play on either edge, he’s capable of doing that. I’ll make a final decision on which edge he plays on, but he can also play in the middle. It will be a mixture of both those positions.
“The way he plays, he can tell me whatever number he wants and he can have it. He’s not a big guy and he plays above his weight. We don’t want to kill him. “It will give us more flexibility around the interchange and he can play in vital parts of the game.
“He’s got a great future, he’s capitalising on that and has already played for Australia.”
MURRAY MOVE COULD SHAKE UP KFC SUPERCOACH SELECTIONS
Murray’s mooted move has big KFC NRL SuperCoach implications. The Rabbitohs poached young second rower Jaydn Su’A from the Broncos midway through 2019 and he started the final four regulation games on an edge.
Su’A is the eighth most popular second rower in the game with many players expecting the former Junior Kangaroo would lock up an 80-minute role in 2020.
Murray’s positional switch would leave Su’A battling it out with Ethan Lowe for time on the ground.
The move could be a big win for Liam Knight however, with Bennett also confirming that Knight, who recently signed a new four-year deal at the club, will be given an opportunity to make the lock-forward spot his own.
Knight, currently the 21st most popular front rower in KFC SuperCoach, averaged 58PPG in those matches where he played more than 45 minutes last year and his ownership is set to soar with more minutes on offer through the middle.
Should Knight shift to lock, popular cheapie Tom Amone is expected to play a larger role for the Rabbitohs.
Amone played five regular season games for the Rabbitohs in 2019 averaging 22 minutes per game off the bench. The young prop has big raps on him and won the player of the year award at the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in 2018.
CHECK OUT OUR EXPERT KFC SUPERCOACH NRL ANALYSIS HERE