Souths skipper Cameron Murray is considered by many a born leader, but that hasn’t stopped him trying to grow in his role as captain to help the Rabbitohs reach their title aspirations.
Murray replaced Adam Reynolds as Souths captain after the 2021 Grand Final and one year on he believes he will be better for the at times tough experiences of leading Souths last season.
“I learnt a lot last year about leadership,” Murray told foxsports.com.au.
Watch the new look NRL Pre-Season exclusive to Fox League available on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Turbo back in Aus and ready to fire | 01:07
“We went through some pretty tough lows and some pretty incredible highs as well.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster season and I went through some tough moments there personally as well, so I feel like you always learn the most during your darkest times and I think that definitely was the case last year.
“I think I will be better for it this year in terms of my captaincy and leadership style.
“I have always told myself I want to lead with predominantly actions on and off the field as opposed to what I say.
“I want to be that person who inspires people through what they do through my actions, so that is something that I want to keep as my base in terms of my base leadership qualities and that is something that I am continuing to work hard on.”
MORE NRL NEWS
FOOTY IS BACK: Every club’s biggest issue for the NRL trials
‘WHERE MY HEART IS’: Manly gun ready to continue Fulton legacy in new position
WHISPERS: Broncos set to extend Billy Walters’ rival as hooker battle heats up
FACING THE SACK: Broncos star in trouble again after Australia Day incident
Murray admits to being a shy character by nature and has challenged himself to get out of his comfort zone and build on his relationships at the club to get the best out of his players in 2023.
“I learnt last year that relationships is a big one in terms of your teammates,” Murray said.
“That’s not to say I didn’t have good relationships with my teammates last year. I did and I always have.
“It is something that I pride myself on is trying to be the best bloke that I can and being kind and inspirational through that sort of avenue.
“But I think being more of an introverted kind of guy and shy person by mature, certain things in terms of relationship building and getting out of my comfort zone don’t come to me as naturally and I don’t feel as comfortable doing certain things.
“I’m definitely trying to push myself out of my comfort zone in terms of building relationships on and off the field as well. There is plenty of lessons I have learnt from last year.”
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!
Helping share the leadership load again in 2023, will be recently re-signed trio Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Damien Cook and Murray is excited to see what the team can do with their key players committed to the club.
“It means a lot to have those guys locked in long-term,” Murray said.
“When you talk about consistency and building combinations we have all been together now for a good couple of years and we know how each other tick and we all back each other.
“They are some of the best players in their specific positions and I’m really keen to see what we can do over the next couple of years.
“It is good that all the question marks over their futures are over now. They are locked in and we are just fighting hard on the training paddock and we will be ready to go come Round 1.”
Souths would be the envy of most clubs in the NRL due to their consistency, having made five straight preliminary finals and a grand final since 2016.
A red hot Penrtih side has ended their season three years in a row on their way to three grand finals and two titles, so Souths are not far away, but Murray’s side are trying to work on the small margins that can get them over the hump.
“It is a tough one because we have run into a reasonable amount of success over the last few of years,” Murray said.
“But obviously we are just a little bit off in terms of executing at the end of the season.
“The motivation is still running really deep in our veins and we are as hungry as ever to do what we set out to do at the start of every season and that is to win the premiership.
“It is a hard one to pinpoint. You need to get the little things right. You need to continue working on the things you are good at and try and get that little bit better.
“There is no substitute for hard work, so we are working hard and continually trying to get the best out of ourselves and our teammates around us, so hopefully it will pay off this year.”
Souths were up 12-0 against Penrith in last year’s preliminary final and were not helped by injuries to Jai Arrow, Latrell Mitchell and Alex Johnston late in the season.
However, Murray doesn’t want to make excuses and believes the key to success in the NRL is building the resilience and depth to overcome injuries, which are inevitable over the course of a long season.
“I guess it would be ideal to be at full strength and fully fit at that time of year, but it is pretty much a fantasy in the game that we play,” Murray said.
“There is always going to be things that don’t go to plan and go wrong, so I think it is just about building resilience and having a “next man up” mentality.
“We also need to push the people that maybe haven’t been as consistent in first grade and empower them to be the best players they can be, so they are confident and ready to step up when they are needed.
“In terms of management and peaking at the right time that is something our coaching staff and performance staff are looking at in terms of getting our bodies and minds physically ready to play our best footy and be fully fit at that time of year.
“But for someone like me, I am just trying to continually push myself every day and push the players around me to be the best players they can be and value every day. And to value every moment they get on the training park to be the best they can be and continually get that bit better every day, so they are fit and flying when their time comes.”
During pre-season Souths sent their leadership group down to Richmond to learn from one of the most successful AFL teams of the last five years.
Richmond were a team that went close for a few years before going on to win three premierships in four seasons and Murray believes Souths can learn a lot from their approach.
“We went down to Richmond and had a look at how they do things down there,” Murray said.
“We got a few of the boys mostly in the leadership group down there.
“Obviously they have run into some success over the last couple of years in the AFL and that was really good for us.
“We had a lot of really good chats and collaboration with some great minds, so whether that is going to help I guess time will tell, but I definitely valued it a lot and learnt a lot down there.
“I have never done anything like that, so that was great for us to get out of our own little bubble here and see and understand how other people do it.
“If we can help them in any way and if we can move any decisions across code with what they do it will help us evolve as a team.”
However, Murray doesn’t believe Souths should worry about Richmond pinching any of their players in the future.
“I didn’t jump for any marks, I don’t do anything I don’t need to do just in case,” Murray said with a laugh.
“But Latrell, Cody and Cooky got up there. Latrell can just do anything, so he is a freak and Cody and Cooky did alright too.
“But I don’t know how our lungs would hold up playing a full AFL game. You have to be pretty fit and specifically fit as well, but we had a lot of fun down there.”
Remarkably, Souths haven’t recruited a single player in the off-season and Murray believes that consistency in personnel can be a big benefit to their title aspirations.
“I do think that will help,” Murray said.
“There has been a bit of turmoil over the last couple of years with everyone getting hit by Covid pretty hard and a lot of the second and third grades and the juniors didn’t play a lot of footy there, so their bodies were not primed for what a full NRL pre-season demands.
“So there was probably a few injuries there and people weren’t up to scratch in terms of the development that they needed.
“But we have had coaches coming and going as well and a few other things that haven’t been as consistent as they probably need to be to build the relationships and the combinations that you need to become a united team. And to understand each other’s rhythms and what makes them tick and how to get the best out of yourself and everyone around you.
“I think it can only be a good thing this year that we have got a pretty consistent squad in terms of what we had last year.“
With the exception of Sam Burgess’ inclusion, Souths’ coaching staff is also the same and Murray believes that will help get the best out of the young core of exciting talent coming through their pathways.
“We have got pretty much all the same coaching staff in tact,” Murray said.
“We have got Sammy Burgess coming on board in the coaching staff, which is going to be great.
“We have got a lot of younger boys as well pushing for spots, who are competitive and fighting hard at training, which is great to see.
“We have a really good young crop of players coming through, which is going to be good too.
“We can demonstrate the values of what it means to be a South Sydney player and from what I have seen over the pre-season, they are very intuitive guys and ready and eager to learn.
“I’m really impressed with how everyone has been ripping in and with the younger boys hopefully we can build their confidence and prime their minds and bodies to be able to step up when they get an opportunity.”
With the Pre-season Challenge just around the corner, Murray has been buoyed Souths’ pre-season so far and can’t wait to see what the team has learned as they aim to break their title drought in 2023.
“We have had a great couple of weeks here together after New Year’s building relationships and combinations and getting our game specific fitness up to scratch and where it needs to be,” Murray said.
“I have really enjoyed what has encapsulated the pre-season so far and I’m pretty keen to see what we can do this year.”
