South Sydney coach Michael Maguire hasn’t challenged his forwards to lift in the absence of English international Sam Burgess – he’s put them on notice.

Rabbitohs co-captain Roy Asotasi says the rookie NRL coach has demanded constant improvement from his forwards since coming to the club, but that process needs to be fast-tracked now with Burgess out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury.

Coming up against a fearsome and well-balanced Canterbury pack on Good Friday at ANZ Stadium, Asotasi says the red and green engine room have looked to Maguire for guidance as they adapt to life without their star forward.

Asked if the Rabbitohs had the personnel to cover Burgess, the veteran prop pointed to Maguire as the man that mattered.

“We’ve got Michael Maguire there. He’s letting us know – he’s putting us on notice all the time,” said Asotasi.

“There’s a game plan that’s given out to us by the coaches and we’ve just got to go out there and do it.

“We’ve all spoken about it, us forwards, and we need to step up and it’s a challenge we’re willing to take.

“We’ve been talking about that since the start of the competition and the best thing about it is it’s still early. We’re only in round six.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re stepping up in that department … and we need to speed it up now Sam Burgess is out.”