Mention the words State of Origin to Tim Grant and you can almost see the goosebumps stand up on his arm.

The South Sydney front-rower has a small mountain to climb before he will come into Laurie Daley’s consideration but said a fire burns in his belly to pull on a Blues jersey again.

The 27-year-old has moved from Penrith to Redfern in a bid to rejuvenate his career after falling out of favour at the foot of the mountains last year.

Grant went from making his Origin debut in 2012, where he famously put Petero Civoniceva on his back in the opening hit-up of the game, to spending most of 2014 in NSW Cup.

It was a fall from grace that left him deeply frustrated, but now he feels he’s been given a new lease at Souths, who recruited Grant to fill the void left by Sam Burgess and Ben Te’o.

The first proof of his rejuvenation will come in Souths’ season opener against Brisbane next Thursday and he plans to use it as a springboard back into the Origin arena.

“There’s still a fire burning inside and I get tingles when I talk about Origin,” Grant said.

“It’s an experience. But in saying that I’m scratching it right back to the start. I’m learning again and I just want to be the best I can be at South Sydney.

“That stuff takes care of itself, if you look too far ahead you forget what you’re doing today.”

If Grant’s career were to end today he would be best remembered for “that tackle” on Queensland legend Civoniceva, however he refuses to watch replays of it.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to be honest,” he said.

“Everyone talks about it and that but you’ve got hours and hours of Petero smashing blokes and I’ve got a 10-second clip.

“It’s a bit disrespectful.”

Grant feels like he has been given a fresh start at Redfern, but bears no grudges towards Penrith management.

“There was a little bit of frustration,” he said.

“In saying that the decisions that were made were for the good of Penrith and it was for the good of myself as well.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Penrith and that was home for me but in saying that I’m more than happy so things have worked out.”