Wayne Bennett often keeps his cards close to his chest, but there was no hiding his excitement after Jamie Humphreys rescued the Rabbitohs on Saturday afternoon.
The young playmaker, who joined the club from Manly with just one first grade game under his belt, has starred for South Sydney in the opening two rounds.
Humphreys has looked right at home in the No.7 jumper, which most believed would belong to English recruit Lewis Dodd after his big-money move from the Super League.
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English halfback Lewis Dodd has yet to play NRL. Â Steven Siewert via Getty Images
However, the chances of Dodd getting that spot appear to be on the back-burner, with Humphreys coming up clutch in the 25-24 win over the Dragons.
The 23-year-old nailed a field goal to sink St George Illawarra on their home turf, while also kicking all four of his conversions in the tight affair at WIN Stadium.
Speaking post-game, Bennett – who officially two games into his second tenure as head coach at the Bunnies – was asked about the crucial moment from Humphreys.
"I'm sure Cody [Walker] didn't want to do it," the legendary coach laughed.
"The good part about it was there wasn't much thought or process to it, he just backed himself and we got a bit of luck. He just whacked it over and that's a great way to do it."
Walker, who was sat beside Bennett in the press room, admits he has been impressed by the "calm" nature of Humphreys in pressure moments thus far.
Jamie Humphreys celebrates with teammates in round two. Getty
"If I remember correctly, I think I got the ball and dropped it," the Souths skipper said.
"I said to him after the game 'were you even thinking about a field-goal' and he was like 'yeah' … it was the last thing on my mind at that point. It's not my strength in terms of game planning and stuff like that, but he nailed it.
"He's pretty calm and he doesn't say a lot off the field, he is pretty quiet and goes about his business. Once he comes on the field, he is just a competitor and he barks orders and gets us around the park and it's been evident in the last two weeks.
"He does a lot of work before training on his body and his prep, he is similar to Cam [Murray] in the way that he prepares … it's been a joy having him at the club."
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Humphreys now has three games in the NRL for three wins, with his debut in 2024 for the Sea Eagles putting him in the shop-front window for rival clubs.
The decision to join South Sydney, despite there being no clear pathway into the starting side, has now paid off and the supercoach couldn't be happier about it.
Cody Walker and Wayne Bennett. Â Nine
"He is very confident in himself," Bennett said.
"He doesn't see anything as a challenge – he is goalkicking for us, he's doing all our long kicks and then he dropped a field goal today. We haven't put any pressure on him to do that, he has just stepped up and put his hand up.
"There's been no lack of confidence in what he's doing, we won the game last week on his goalkicking and we won again today on his goalkicking."
While the praise was being heaped on Humphreys for his kicking game, Bennett didn't forget to give some plaudits to a former Socceroos coach.
Graham Arnold. Getty
"Graham Arnold will want to take a rap for that," Bennett said.
"I forgot you Graham sorry – you're unemployed at the moment."
Arnold was brought into Souths in the pre-season to work with the club's kickers, which appears to have worked wonders in the opening two rounds.
Bennett's men will take on Cronulla next weekend. Â