NRL
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Souths, NSW boosted by Murray return

NRL

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou has described the return of club captain Cameron Murray as "huge" after the lock was given the all-clear to face the Wests Tigers on Saturday.

Murray has been sidelined for the last two weeks after undergoing minor shoulder surgery.

His return will also be a timely boost for NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler as he prepares to name his Blues squad on Sunday.

Without the 24-year-old last week against Canberra, the Rabbitohs looked rudderless when they suffered a 32-12 defeat in Dubbo.

"We need his experience out there on the field," said Demetriou, who also welcomes back dependable prop Mark Nicholls.

"He just does everything right and he's a model professional.

"He had the surgery and was straight back into it the next day and giving himself every chance to play.

"He'll make an impact but we've all got to own our own roles and we can't be sitting back hoping he can solve our issues."

As well as the returns of Murray and Nicholls, Demetriou expects Junior Tatola and Taane Milne, who picked up concussions in the loss to Canberra, to be fit to play.

Front-rower Liam Knight trained separately from the rest of the group on Friday and will not line up against the Tigers.

Souths have played in patches this year and no more so was that more evident than against the Raiders.

The Bunnies boast the worst completion rate (72 per cent) and error count (148) across the competition.

In every game this year when they have been trailing at halftime, the Rabbitohs have been unable to turn the result around before the final whistle.

Demetriou has called for greater calmness from his men, who have begun life after Wayne Bennett with a 5-6 record.

"We were 8-0 down and there were periods from that point where we fought our way back in and we had some opportunities in good ball and we sort of overplayed (our hand)," he said.

"We've just got to calm down a little bit, get through our process and stick to what works for us and when we do that we get results.

"I want to see us get out there and just be South Sydney."

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