Weekend Read: How Rabbitohs landed cut-price halfback hero Jamie Humphreys

Jamie Humphreys’ impressive early season form for an undefeated South Sydney was no accident. The Rabbitohs had been clamouring for the unassuming playmaker for over two years.

Mark Ellison had his eye on Jamie Humphreys for two years. Maybe longer.

Ellison, South Sydney’s head of recruitment, saw something in Humphreys long before the playmaker arrived at Heffron Park and snaffled the No.7 jersey.

Funnily enough, his failed pursuit of Humphreys two years ago only made Ellison more determined to land his signature.

At the time, Humphreys felt he owed Manly some loyalty. He wanted to take his shot at the Sea Eagles, where his father Steve was the former chief executive.

So as hard as Ellison tried a couple of years ago, he couldn’t convince Humphreys to leave.

“We were close,” Ellison said.

“He considered it. 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.

“There’s no BS about him.”

Jamie Humphreys rejected South Sydney to have his shot at Manly. Picture: NRL Photos

Humphreys stayed on Sydney’s northern beaches, sat behind Daly Cherry-Evans, spent some time training at hooker and got one shot at the big time – against Newcastle in round 19 last year.

He produced an eye-catching performance but by then, a determined Ellison had already worked his magic. About a fortnight or so before Humphreys showed he could handle the big stage, Ellison shook hands on a deal with Humphreys over a meal at The Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay with Humphreys’ manager George Mimis.

They ordered a steak, chewed the fat, and talked about Humphreys’ time in England, where he spent time with the London Broncos academy, moved to halfback and played against Rabbitohs half Lewis Dodd in the lower grades.

They also spoke about how Humphreys’ window was closing at Manly – Cherry-Evans had been re-signed and the club invested in young halves Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large.

Steak polished off, Ellison finally had his man. That decision, which came after the club had already signed Dodd to a long-term deal, has turned out to be a masterstroke.

Art by Boo Bailey.

Two games into the NRL season and Humphreys has been a lifesaver for South Sydney. He has stepped into the breach and saved their bacon.

Not that you would know it. Last week, as his game-deciding field goal sailed through the sticks against St George Illawarra, Humphreys almost self-consciously raised a hand in the air and then just as quickly turned around and started walking back towards the halfway line.

Contrast that with the reaction of Dragons winger Christian Tuipulotu, who celebrated his try earlier in the game by performing a show-me-the-money celebration.

Humphreys has had a strong start to the season. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

If anyone had a right to suggest he deserved a bigger pay cheque, it was Humphreys. He is on a modest deal at Souths, far less than his coterie of star-studded teammates.

It isn’t necessarily about money for Humphreys.

The move to Souths was about opportunity and the chance to work with coach Wayne Bennett. If he fell short, it wouldn’t be through lack of trying.

Humphreys’ journey has been one of grim determination and good genes. As a kid growing up in Sydney’s shire, he would run the famed Wanda sand hills from the age of 10.

He was born with a work ethic and the DNA to be a rugby league player – father Steve and grandfather Kevin both played in the premiership.

When the family moved to England for Steve’s job, he found himself in the London Broncos system. His parents worried it may stymie his development.

Jamie was determined not to let that happen. It’s the same determination that has caught Bennett’s eye so early in his return to Souths.

Bennett knew little about Humphreys before he arrived at the club but a couple of weeks before Christmas, he knew had a footballer on his hands.

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

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

Jamie Humphreys looks set for a long stint in the No.7 for South Sydney. Picture: NRL Photos

“But, you know, you have a background that’s full of a football life, so he kind of gets it around the club and the players.

“He’s a great trainer. He’s up in the top 10 per cent of trainers in the club. Look, he does everything right.”

The field goal showed as much.

“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.

“ (Siliva Havili) just picked the ball up and threw it to him.

“No one was thinking field goal except him.”

Asked what that moment told him about Humphreys, Bennett said: “I think he’s got a brain that operates under pressure. That’s what I think.

“I think he’s got the footy smarts and his mind’s in the right place most of the time.”

Humphreys has managed to keep Dodd at bay through the early rounds of the season.

Dodd was suspended in round one but was back in the NSW Cup in round two and showed some encouraging signs.

No doubt, the Englishman won’t give up without a fight. Nor will Humphreys.

* * * * *

Brandon Smith has landed on his feet at South Sydney.

If there is a coach that can get the best out of the New Zealand international after his troubled time at the Sydney Roosters, it is surely Wayne Bennett.

The seven-time premiership winner has always had an affinity with players like Smith and he made no secret of his desire to lure the 28-year-old from Souths’ bitter rivals.

Ultimately though, this move is about Smith. He joined the Roosters on a monster deal but never really justified the price tag. Injuries hurt him, but so did some off-field concerns that no doubt prompted the Roosters to give him permission to leave.

Midway through last season, Smith missed a mid-season review and was issued with a breach notice. It was the firmest indication up to that point that the Roosters were running out of patience with one of their highest-paid players.

Brandon Smith could be a game-changing pick-up for South Sydney. Picture: NRL Photos

By the end of the season, it had become patently clear that his time with the Roosters had run its course. The club let him go to market and Souths have now swooped.

The Roosters went out of their way to help Smith through some difficult times and Souths will no doubt do the same.

Even Bennett can only do so much.

Smith’s attitude and discipline will determine whether he can be the player who the Roosters targeted from Melbourne, signing him to a deal worth as much as $2.5 million.

His new deal at Souths is for a fraction of that, albeit around $1.15 million over two years.

If Smith – currently sidelined with a knee injury suffered last season – can return to his former glories, the Rabbitohs will have a bargain on their hands.

Smith, at that price, could be a snip.

Originally published as Weekend Read: How Rabbitohs landed cut-price halfback hero Jamie Humphreys