Rabbitohs fullback spot is mine: Inglis

Greg Inglis has declared himself South Sydney’s starting fullback for the 2017 NRL season and insists his body is more than able to stand up to the rigours of the role.

Inglis started and finished last year in the No.1 shirt but a mid-season decision by Michael Maguire to switch him to five-eighth then centre led to speculation it was a move designed to prolong his career due to his struggles with a persistent knee problem.

Moving the Queensland superstar didn’t have the desired effect on the field as the Rabbitohs slumped to five successive losses and missed out on the finals for the first time since 2011.

A return to his favoured position sparked Souths to wins in their last four matches and Inglis said playing at fullback was a factor in his decision to re-sign with the club.

“The body is fine and I had a good chat with Madge (Maguire) at the end of the season,” Inglis told AAP.

“I’ll be heading back to fullback and staying there for good … it’s where I want to play.

“I’m on contract now until 2020 and after that who knows? The club have been very kind to us as a family so I was happy to show them some loyalty.”

Inglis has been rested for the Four Nations opener against Scotland to preserve him for next week’s encounter with New Zealand where he’ll line up in the centres with Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga ruling out any prospect of him playing fullback.

“It’s set in stone, Darius (Boyd) is our fullback, I’ve not even thought about moving Greg back there,” said Meninga, who did select Inglis at fullback in his final match as Queensland coach in 2015.

Inglis has no problem with the decision and said the transition from playing fullback to centre is one he’s become accustomed to.

“Darius is too important to us to play in another position and has done a tremendous job at the back,” he said.

“The way he has being playing for his club, he deserves that.

“It’s not hard to switch, it’s just about preparation.

“At fullback there’s a lot more running so you have to watch what you eat because you want to be a bit lighter so you can move about.

“In the centres you need to be carrying a bit extra to take the impact a bit harder.”

Inglis has a stellar record in England where he has never tasted defeat, and scored seven tries in 11 appearances in addition to success in the 2015 World Club Challenge against St Helens where he also crossed the whitewash.

“I do like playing here, it’s hard being so far away from home, especially as we’ve just had a little girl born three weeks ago,” he said.

“But these are the tours you want to be a part of. I had a good chat with Mal who gave me the option of staying at home but I told him I was good to go.”

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