Act of Squad: Rabbitohs predicted team and 2026 overview

It might seem far-fetched to describe a team which finished 14th last season as premiership contenders, despite virtually no big-name signings, but South Sydney have one of the NRL’s best rosters if their stars stay fit.

Captain Cameron Murray (1 match), hooker Brandon Smith (5), prop Tevita Tatola (9) and backs Cody Walker, Campbell Graham and Latrell Mitchell (11 each) managed just 48 matches between them for the Rabbitohs last season.

All are representative stars and all are hungry for success in 2026 under master coach Wayne Bennett, who remains the game’s longest serving and most successful mentor.

In a storied career that began in Canberra in 1987 and includes six premierships with the Broncos, one with the Dragons and another three grand final appearances, including 2021 with Souths, Bennett hasn’t endured many tougher seasons than 2025, with:

• Murray and Mitchell injured on the same day during pre-season training;
• Walker hindered by nagging calf injuries that ended his year in July;
• The luckless Graham battling a broken hand, calf trouble and a bulging disc in his back after missing the entire 2024 season due to a sternum complaint;
• Tatola ruled out with a shoulder injury, and;
• Smith, who swapped clubs mid-season, recovering from an ACL.

Yet if there was a silver lining to a season in which the Rabbitohs won just nine games, it was the development of young stars Jye Gray, Jamie Humphreys, Tallis Duncan, Lachlan Hubner, Peter Mamouzelos, Tyrone Munro and Ashton Ward.

The rookies proved themselves at NRL level and the 2025 form of Gray is expected to lead to Mitchell shifting from fullback to centre.

The move ensures the Rabbitohs will have arguably the game's most potent left edge, comprising of Mitchell, Walker, strike second-rower David Fifita and winger Alex Johnston, who needs just three tries to become the greatest tryscorer in premiership history.

The signings of Fifita and Adam Elliott provides depth to a forward pack led by Murray, Tatola, Keaon Koloamatangi, who played for the Kangaroos in last year’s Ashes Series in England, and Maroons stalwart Jai Arrow.

At his best, Smith is one of the most damaging hookers in the NRL and he can also play in the back row, giving Bennett the option to start the Kiwis international and bring either Mamouzelos, Bronson Garlick or Jayden Sullivan off the bench.

But it is Souths depth that sets them apart from most other teams, as evidenced by the following possible second Rabbitohs line-up:

Matt Dufty; Tyrone Munro, Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, Moala Graham-Taufa, Ed Kosi, Jayden Sullivan, Jonah Glover; Sean Keppie, Bronson Garlick, Franklin Pele, Lachlan Hubner, Thomas Fletcher, Liam Le Blanc; Ashton Ward, Max McCarthy, Dan Keir, Tim Johannssen.

If injuries strike hard again in 2026, Bennett has players who can step up.

Souths play the Dragons in the annual Charity Shield at WIN Stadium on February 14 before travelling to Mudgee to take on Manly in their second Witzer Pre-season Challenge match on February 22.