South Sydney captain Cameron Murray has hailed the signing of Payne Haas as a massive vote of confidence in the direction of the club as the Rabbitohs aim to return to the top four this season.
Haas, who is regarded as the best forward in the game, stunned the Broncos by signing a three-year deal with Souths which will see him leave the defending premiers in 2027 to join the club which finished 14th last season.
Murray welcomed the signing coup, orchestrated by Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett, and said it reinforced the belief within the club that they had a squad capable of challenging for the premiership.
“I’m very excited about the news, and really happy,” Murray said at the 2026 NRL season launch on Tuesday in Sydney.
“It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that he wants to be a part of what we are doing here and he wants to come down (from Brisbane) and he wants to contribute to the success that we are driving for.
“His resume speaks for itself, and the type of player and the character that he shows on the field is unmatched, so it will be exciting to welcome him to the club next year.”
With Murray among a large group of Souths players set to return from injury this season, the Rabbitohs boast one of the deepest rosters in the NRL.
Rookies such as Jye Gray, Lachlan Hubner, Tallis Duncan, Jamie Humphreys and Ashton Ward were forced to step up as Souths coped with an injury toll that at one stage included 18 players.
Murray played just one match – in Round 27 against Sydney Roosters – after rupturing an Achilles in pre-season training, while Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham were restricted to 11 appearances each.
The Kangaroos and NSW Blues backrower has now fully recovered and is raring to lead Souths back to the finals.
“I am just feeling very grateful and lucky to be back doing what I love doing,” Murray said.
“I am feeling fit and I am feeling excited and hungry. Everyone else at the club is too, so hopefully we have a big year ahead.
“For us as a playing group it is just about grabbing the opportunity with two hands and making the most of the resources and the team-mates we have around us and fighting as hard as we can to play our best footy.
“We want to be competing consistently with the top teams, and to return to that top four position we know we are capable of.”
The Rabbitohs reached the preliminary final on eight occasions from 2012 to 2022, winning the premiership in 2014 and losing the 2021 grand final.
However, they have not featured in the finals for the past three seasons, with injuries having a significant impact in Bennett’s first year back in charge in 2025 after three seasons at the Dolphins.
“It was obviously frustrating not playing myself and seeing the amount of injuries we had on the sidelines wasn’t nice but in saying that I am really proud of how the boys handled themselves,” Murray said.
“They got thrown into the trenches for a lot of games last year and I thought a lot of people stepped up. A lot of people got opportunities who we probably wouldn’t have seen if we hadn’t found ourselves in those circumstances.
“It was really pleasing to see those guys step up and put their best foot forward, and fight as hard as they can for the jersey.
“It is what we expect at this club and there were some shining lights. You could probably go through the whole team and say how much they sacrificed and how much effort they put in to play their best footy and to represent us the best they could.
“It was a tough year for the injuries we saw on the sideline but there were lots of opportunities that otherwise would have happened.”
