South Sydney coach Michael Maguire has promised Rabbitohs fans that the NRL premiers are well prepared for life without Sam Burgess.
Burgess is favoured to win the prestigious Golden Boot award on Friday as the world player of the year after inspiring Souths to a drought-breaking first grand final triumph since 1971.
If he does, the Rabbitohs will need to become the first team to land back-to-back NRL premierships in 22 years without the game’s so-called best player as Bath-based Burgess chases a place in England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup squad.
Maguire is banking on big-name recruits Glenn Stewart and Tim Grant as well as the club’s emerging young forwards to fill the void of the colossal Clive Churchill Medallist.
“We all know what Sam meant to the club and obviously he’s left a great legacy behind,” Maguire said on Wednesday.
“But for us now, that chapter has finished up and I’ve got a Timmy Grant and Glenn Stewart coming in and I’ve got a lot of young kids that are going into the squad.
“I think the experience of a lot of our young guys who came through in the last 12 months is definitely going to take us forward.
“They’re all very hungry.”
Insisting there’s no complacency in the ranks, Maguire is hoping his decision to take the squad to Arizona for 18 days’ pre-season training will freshen his charges up for the challenges ahead.
“We had a lot of different experiences as a group together,” he said.
“Whether or not we were going up and down the Grand Canyon or climbing large mountains, the boys put a lot of effort into the training they did at altitude.
“We’re well aware of the bar every year going to new heights.”
After eight years at Penrith, Grant admitted joining the Rabbitohs was “a little bit daunting” at first.
“I’ve been at Penrith for a long time,” said the former NSW State of Origin prop.
“But I got the opportunity to go away with the boys and live with them for two weeks and that made the transition a lot easier.
“I’m living down in the eastern suburbs now and I’m really part of the community, so it’s been awesome.
“To be honest, I don’t feel like I’ve got anything to prove to anyone.”
