Cameron Murray set for surprise move as Jai Arrow receives massive boost

The Rabbitohs are set to reshuffle their forward pack after Jai Arrow suffered a rotator cuff injury, with Cameron Murray to be pushed from lock onto the right edge. The Souths forward picked up a shoulder injury during their season-opener in Las Vegas and will miss at least the next four weeks.

Arrow was anticipated to have needed surgery, which would have seen him sidelined for the rest of the season, but in a major boost on Thursday, it was revealed that he will instead undergo rehabilitation, with the hope that he will only miss the next month of footy. The Souths forward will then be re-evaluated at the end of the season, where it will be determined if he needs to go under the knife to fix the problem.

Arrow's positive injury update comes in the wake of Campbell Graham being ruled out for the majority of the year with a sternum injury. While Tyrone Munro remains out after being injured in pre-season and will miss the opening weeks of the 2024 NRL campaign.

Tallis Duncan has been named in the Bunnies side in place of Arrow but in a surprising twist, Murray is now expected to be shifted out onto the right edge, with Duncan to be deployed through the middle. James Hooper told NRL 360: "The mail today was that they’ll move Cameron Murray, who is obviously one of the best number 13s in the game at the moment. He’ll play on the right edge where Arrow was."

"That’ll mean that the young gun Tallis Duncan gets an opportunity to play through the middle. Murray’s a superstar. I love him in the middle of the field with his quick play-the-ball and the way he can tie everything in defensively. But we’ve seen him do it at representative level where he’s shifted to the edge and he does not miss a beat."

Kevin Walters backs Adam Reynolds to star against former club

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has backed captain Adam Reynolds to return to his best in Thursday night's clash against his former club South Sydney. The opening NRL fixture of round two has plenty of subplots but none more exciting than the showdown between Reynolds and Souths halfback Lachlan Ilias.

Ilias wears the No.7 jersey that the Broncos half won the 2014 premiership in at the Rabbitohs. He is also the man that was backed in by the Souths hierarchy at the end of 2021 when Reynolds was seeking a longer deal at the club but instead, he was let go.

The 23-year-old led the Rabbitohs to the 2022 finals series but was poor last year in a team that struggled to fire a shot. Meanwhile, Reynolds played a key role in the Broncos reaching last year's grand final where they lost 26-24 to Penrith.

The Brisbane talisman had a poor final 20 minutes that contributed to the loss and was outplayed by Roosters halfback Sam Walker in the Broncos' 20-10 round one loss in Las Vegas. But Walters believes Reynolds will be back to his scintillating best against Souths in round two.

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"We have a lot of faith and confidence in Reyno," Walters said. "Playing against your old club is always a big occasion and Reyno is no different. I am sure he will be right to go and lead the side the way only Adam can lead."

with AAP

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