It doesn’t take long to work out why Cameron Murray was chosen as the successor to Adam Reynolds’ captaincy at South Sydney.
If you were creating a prototypical ‘club captain’ in a lab, you’d end up with something close to Murray, who ticks all the boxes for Souths fans.
Local junior? Check. Rep player? Check. Well spoken? Check. Will be around for a while? Check – he signed a contract extension until the end of 2025.
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Speaking to other members of the Rabbitohs, it’s easy to see why the 24-year-old was a slam dunk candidate.
“He’s been great – he’s not a big talker, but he lets his actions do the talking. He’s too tired to talk anyway because he gets through so much work,” Cody Walker told Wide World of Sports of his new skipper.
“Everyone in the leadership group last year had different strengths and bounced stuff off each other, so that won’t change too much.”
A lot of the verbal duties will be left to senior players like Walker and Damien Cook, who Murray says push him just as much as he pushes them.
“Players like that, they’re exceptional athletes and people on and off the field,” Murray told Wide World of Sports.
“I see the hard work they put in and the talent that they showcase and it does push me to be a better player and version of myself because you never want to let your teammates down.”
Few work harder than Murray himself – and nobody knows that better than his old Mascot Jets teammate, Keaon Koloamatangi.
“He’s always been a leader,” Koloamatangi told Wide World of Sports.
“He doesn’t do much talking but his actions on the field are second to none – everyone wants to follow him and nobody wants to let him down.”
Murray is still recovering from a shoulder reconstruction, which he had a week after the grand final, and won’t feature in this weekend’s Charity Shield.
“It’s hard to comment on it when I haven’t captained a game yet, but I’m sure I’ll start to realise what it means and what it takes over the next few months,” he said.
“Its been a really big process but I’ve had really good rehabilitation staff and physios here who’ve helped me through it, and I definitely wouldn’t be in the nick I am now without them.”
Murray was one of Souths’ best in last year’s grand final, where they came agonisingly close to a 22nd premiership.
But there’s no time to dwell on that. You often see teams who lose grand finals take a step backwards the following year – but the mood around Redfern seems as ominous as the thunderclouds hanging over Redfern Oval this afternoon.
“At the beginning of the preseason we really drilled down hard on the things we need to improve on – but a lot of it was just focusing on what went right last year,” he said.
Murray has the captain speak down pat already, even dropping a “training the house down” during the interview.
But the sincerity with which Murray approaches the game is clear – and despite his obvious talent, his workrate is what sets him apart – even saying there was room for improvement on what was a brilliant 2021 campaign.
“I just love the game, I love what I do. You can never be comfortable with where you are because the moment you do, that’s the moment you start slipping,” he said.
“The harder everyone around you works, the harder you want to work. And that sums up this club and the calibre of players here.”
Murray’s first game as captain will likely be in round one, against his old mate and former skipper Reynolds – who remains on great terms with his former club.
It’s a great first test for the Bunnies who lost not only their halfback, but coach Wayne Bennett and Origin centre Dane Gagai, among others.
While he isn’t looking too far ahead, has Murray allowed himself to daydream about speaking on that first Sunday in October and hoisting the Provan-Summons trophy?
“Of course,” he laughs.
“Every year you miss out is a year that you get hungrier.”
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