NRL 2022: New Souths skipper Cameron Murray serious doubt for opening match against Broncos
It may be a marketer’s dream but new Souths skipper Cameron Murray won’t buy into the hype of facing the Broncos in round one if it means putting his season in jeopardy.
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The lure of taking down the man he replaced as South Sydney captain isn’t enough for Cameron Murray to declare he’ll be fit for the opening round of the season.
The Rabbitohs have drawn a first-up clash with the Broncos on March 11 - a marketer’s dream with former Souths halfback and captain Adam Reynolds making his club debut for Brisbane.
On the recovery trail from shoulder reconstructive surgery, Murray has declared he won’t put his long-term health at risk simply due to the excitement of captaining the Rabbitohs for the first time.
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“It was a full shoulder reco. A pretty serious operation,’’ Murray said.
“There still are question marks whether I‘ll be able to get back for round one because it’s a four to six month recovery.
“I got done on the 11th of October.
“I knew that I was always going to be racing the clock and needed to stay disciplined with my rehab, but not push my rehab too far at the same time.
“I’m doing some contact and I’m pleased with how it’s going. I don’t want to rush it, but in saying that I’m the captain and it’s going to be a big year.”
Murray’s elevation into the captaincy is a story that is being celebrated by every Souths fan.
He optimises everything that all rugby league clubs strive to achieve; a local junior who has only ever had one dream, to lead the Rabbitohs.
Murray was still trying to erase the pain of losing the 2021 grand final when Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou called requesting a meeting.
It was November last year when Murray, with his shoulder still tender from reconstructive surgery knocked on Demetriou‘s office door.
“I was only fresh off the operation and the heartbreak of the grand final,” Murray said.
“At that time, I knew the way I was best going to recover, mentally and physically, was to forget about footy altogether and so I got away.
“I enjoyed my time away, I didn’t think about footy.
“But then I got the call and that was the first footy thing that came up for me.”
It will go down as one of the proudest moments in Murray’s NRL career.
“It‘s still hard to put into words,’’ Murray said.
“I still don‘t think I’ve fully digested the enormity of the occasion.’’
Murray‘s emotion comes from a place of care and passion for a club that is in his veins.
A South Sydney junior from the Mascot Jets club, Murray has only ever known South Sydney.
He captained South Sydney’s Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball Cup sides and he shakes his head with pride when you rattle the names of previous Rabbitohs skippers Clive Churchill, Jack Rayner, John Sattler, Mario Fenech, John Sutton, Sam Burgess, Greg Inglis and Adam Reynolds.
“When we all knew that ‘Reyno’ was leaving (to the Broncos), we all knew one of us was going to get it,’’ Murray said.
“I knew whoever was going to get it, I was confident they would lead the squad.
“I wouldn’t have taken it personally if I didn’t get it and I know that’s the same for the other boys because all we want to do is win footy games.’’
Unlike some of their rivals, the Rabbitohs ability to name Murray as their sole captain is also underpinned by the support he will receive from experienced teammates Damien Cook, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell.
“I’m trying to not get ahead of myself because I just don’t want the captaincy to be the be-all and end-all,’’ Murray said.
“I want to be successful and make sure that I’m doing everything possible to not only make my personal game a success, but contribute to our team and our organisation as a whole to maintain that top four position.
“I’m more ready than I ever have been.
“I know I‘ve got Sam (Burgess) or Sutto’s (John Sutton) number that I can call for advice.
“I’ve always been a pretty simple kind of guy and never one to over complicate things.
“Something that gives me a lot of confidence also is the leadership group we’ve got at Souths with Cody and Damien, who have filled in some really big shoes when asked to do so in the past.
“I know they’re going to step up again this year and we’ve also got Latrell, who is an influential figure within our team and the NRL.’’
How Bennett gatecrashed star’s massive moment
- Nick Walshaw
First time the old man ran at him on the front lawn, Jaydn Su’a was 10. Maybe 11.
“So I probably shouldn’t be telling this story,” he shrugs.
Yet still, Su’a is. Has to. With said yarn, he says, the only real way to explain “why I’m here”.
Specifically, sat right now in the WIN Stadium grandstand, chatting about his new life as a St George Illawarra Dragon.
That, and rising Queensland Origin star.
A fella whose past 12 months alone has been the type of rollercoaster that is being wanted, unwanted, punted, playing Origin, then an NRL grand final, even having Wayne Bennett drawl: “Congratulations, you’ve just been selected for Queensland … but you’re dropped”.
More on that last one soon enough, too.
First, we want to take you inside the making of a Dragons tough.
A 24-year-old tackling machine who, being hailed the new mettle for this Steel City team, debuts for the Red V in Saturday’s Charity Shield showdown against his old club, South Sydney.
Which must surely have its own storyline, right?
“Oh, Keaon Koloamatangi has been saying all summer how this will be my last game,” Su’a laughs, referencing his great mate and Bunnies backrower.
“I know he’s on the other side of the field, but I’ll still be keeping an eye out.”
Yet what we really want to talk about is his own growing reputation as an NRL thwacker.
A topic which takes this new Dragon back 15 years to showdowns with truck-driving dad, Daniel.
A fella who came from little, knew struggle, and had fathered his son by 17.
So free rides? No, just as none were given to Daniel Su’a, so he knew there was no charity coming for his son.
“So every afternoon after school, he’d make me run five kilometres,” the backrower starts, before explaining how, on return, the old boy would then strap on an older, blue bump pad – and charge.
Which is some image.
But the story Su’a has never told? The one he isn’t even sure about telling now?
“It was the time I decided to hold onto that pad,” he grins.
“I was only 10. Maybe 11. Tried to make it so Dad couldn’t get rid of me.”
But guess what? Dad did get rid of him.
“Then chucked the pad down,” he cackles. “And ran at me.
“I never stood a chance. And while he’ll hate me telling that story, it’s one of the biggest things in my life.
“Because it taught me what I wanted. And what it takes to get there.”
Which never mattered more than last May. When after a Redfern Oval training session, Su’a was called into the offices of coach Bennett and, in only one sentence, told he’d been selected for Queensland and dropped to reserves.
“And that’s exactly how Wayne said it,” he recounts..
“Congratulations you’ve made the Origin team … but you’re playing reserve grade.”
Which initially, stunned the youngster; even though over the previous three weeks his Bunnies had leaked 50 points to Melbourne and Penrith, including 12 tries down his right edge.
But still, Su’a was a Maroon.
So how bad could it be?
“And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t happy,” he concedes of Bennett’s demotion. “Afterwards, I felt depressed. Embarrassed.
“Getting dropped after being selected for Origin, that hurts your ego.”
So what was said? “Wayne just said ‘I need more from you’,” Su’a continues. “Said if I wasn’t giving everything, what was the point of me being out there?” Which is some crack.
Still, you never cracked it with the coach? “No, because Wayne was right,” he admits of the man who gave him his debut him with Brisbane at 18.
“I should’ve been doing more. When I got dropped, people around me were surprised. Asking ‘why?’.
“But I knew this was about those things fans don’t see.
“And the fact I knuckled down, worked it out and finished up playing a grand final, I’m proud of that. That’s something I’ll hold close forever.”
Same deal, Su’a says, his response to eventually being pushed out of Souths through salary cap pressures.
“Which hurt, too,” he admits. “But as much as I was upset to leave, I’m now really happy to be here.”
Which again, can be credited to all those afternoons on the front lawn. Give up? Not an option.
“I remember Dad once arriving at my weekend footy after saying he couldn’t make it,” Sua recalls.
“I was out there mucking around. Missing tackles. So afterwards, I’m walking off and hear Dad calling my name from the other side of the field.
“He just looked at me, shook his head, then drove off. I had to catch a bus home.”
But the real kicker?
That came when little Jaydn finally arrived back at the front yard.
“Where Dad was waiting,” he laughs. “Holding that old tackle pad.”
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