Around the multi-million dollar Heffron Park home of the Rabbitohs, Wayne Bennett will wander past his players and casually put a call out for \u201cthe big fella\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s at this point you\u2019d probably think Latrell Mitchell or maybe Keaon Koloamatangi or even Campbell Graham are likely to answer.<\/p>\n
Who the old coach really wants is Jye Gray. He\u2019s 170cm. That might even be helped by his impressive bouffant.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe walks around calling me that,\u201d Gray laughs. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy and he looks after all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch every game of the NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series before the Grand Final, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n Murray returns in Huge Bunnies boost | 00:56<\/p>\n It won\u2019t show up on too many end-of-season highlight reels, but in the space of 15 seconds a couple of weeks ago, Gray showed why Bennett is particularly looking after his little No.1, the best pound-for-pound player in the NRL this year.<\/p>\n As Dylan Brown surged through the Rabbitohs\u2019 defensive line and shovelled a ball back inside to Eels fullback Isiah Iongi, a blur of white headgear turned in a flash and then hurtled head first into the legs of Iongi, who was Winx-like odds to score. Gray made the try-saving tackle. There haven\u2019t been many more times this year where The Burrow has cheered louder.<\/p>\n As the South Sydney defensive line desperately retreated for the next play, Gray got up and then threw his body in front of Dylan Walker, and helped deny another gilt-edged chance. It even brought a smile to the old coach\u2019s face.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s captured everyone\u2019s imagination,\u201d Bennett tells foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s this little guy in stature, and he just plays his heart out. He\u2019s fun to watch. He\u2019s making great tackles and saving tries, he\u2019s making great runs and scoring tries.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just full of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n Jye Gray has \u2018captured everyone\u2019s imagination\u2019, says Wayne Bennett.Source: Getty ImagesTeammates love him too: Souths\u2019 Jack Wighton and Jye Gray.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Of all the weird and wild storylines which have dominated the NRL this season, there perhaps hasn\u2019t been one as wholesome as that of Gray, the smallest player in the game who led the Dally M count early in the season.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something magnetic about a little man in rugby league, doing things they shouldn\u2019t in the toughest body contact sport in the world.<\/p>\n Barry \u201cBunny\u201d Reilly was perhaps the most famous, upending his much bigger rivals with glee for the Roosters in the 1960s and 1970s. He was 163cm. In the modern era, Allan Langer stood at just 165cm. Preston Campbell, 167cm. Gray is about the only current player who could moonlight in the Reggie The Rabbit suit.<\/p>\n But the game is also different now, its athletes full-time professionals, and its scouts thinking they only need to look at a physique to know if someone is going to make it or not.<\/p>\n It was about the time when Gray was 18 that his manager, former Queensland fullback Clinton Schifcofske, had to sit down with the Gold Coast teenager and his dad, Shayne, and tell him what recruiters thought. All of Gray\u2019s peers were being snapped up by NRL clubs around the country. He still didn\u2019t have a bite, let alone a contract.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone has got a knock on you and they just think you\u2019re too small,\u201d Schifcofske bluntly told them. \u201cBut I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d come prepared.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n CRAWLS: Walsh\u2019s \u2018up yours\u2019 to Broncs; $1m man dodges heat as $250k buys thrive<\/a><\/p>\n BRONCOS: How Madge-Walsh Broncos partnership went from surprising start to a public whack<\/a><\/p>\n BURNING Qs: What to expect from Tigers\u2019 $1m teen sensation; schoolboys rugby star\u2019s big DCE Test<\/a><\/p>\n Alfie stands at just 165cm, five cms shorter than Gray.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n Schifcofske asked Gray if he had heard of Langer. Given he wasn\u2019t even born when Langer made his famous State of Origin return under Bennett in the 2001 series, it\u2019s not a wild theory to suspect Gray wouldn\u2019t know much about him.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I do,\u201d Gray said. \u201cHe was a real good halfback for Queensland and dad talks about him all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the greatest halfbacks to ever play the game,\u201d Schifcofske nodded. \u201cHow tall do you reckon he was?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019re taller than the greatest halfback Queensland has ever had, so you can make it if you want to,\u201d Schifcofske told him.<\/p>\n Something clicked with Gray.<\/p>\n \u201cI like that.\u201d<\/p>\n But Gray still needed someone to take a chance on him.<\/p>\n