"Exciting time" at Souths: Maguire

Aug 2, 2017 - 3:40 AM They've been eliminated from finals contention with a month to go, but South Sydney coach Michael Maguire says it's an "exciting time" at the NRL club.

While the Rabbitohs sit 14th on the ladder with a 6-13 record, Maguire insists spirits remain high, with the club in a "transitioning" period.

He's confident fans have brighter times to look forward to next year, when skipper Greg Inglis will also be back from the first-round injury that ended his 2017 season.

"It's allowing me to sort of bring a lot of young guys through at the moment," Maguire said on Wednesday.

"We've got a lot of young kids that have sort of come in this season and I'm seeing them grow every week.

"We've got to get them into that winning circle now and allow them to play their best footy.

"Whether it's Zane Musgrove starting in the front row to (lock) Cam Murray coming in - he played a great game for us last week, he came out and performed really well - it's actually really exciting inside the organisation.

"As much as we're not getting the results that we'd like, it's a pretty exciting time."

Musgrove, 21, and Murray, 19, are among a handful of young Bunnies expected to boost a bounce back in 2018.

"I think that's probably been a big transitioning period for us at the moment," Maguire said.

"Obviously with Greg (Inglis) being able to come back in and we've got a few others there that will come back in over time, but these younger boys that have shown what they can do this year.

"Angus Crichton (21) is one of them that has really come out and put his game out there ... and he's going to have another big growth in him throughout the pre-season."

South Sydney face St George Illawarra at the SCG on Friday with the Dragons grappling to stay in the top eight.

"There's a lot of history between the two teams, there's a lot of great players that have played on that turf for both clubs, so to allow our players and our younger guys to have that experience, I think it's going to be fantastic," Maguire said.

The coach has benched NRL veteran Robbie Farah again for 26-year-old hooker Damien Cook, while captain Sam Burgess (rib), halfback Adam Reynolds (jaw) and forward Crichton (foot fracture) are all fit to play, he said.

"Sam will be out there with Adam, doing what they normally do with all of the younger guys coming through and it's about getting out and getting a really strong performance," Maguire said.

Source: AAP