After spending nearly three months in the wilderness, Peter Mamouzelos is determined to prove he can be a hooker at NRL level as he faces an uncertain future at South Sydney.
Mamouzelos was dumped to reserve grade after the Bunnies’ round-12 loss to North Queensland in May and was finally recalled for last Friday’s 22-6 win over Canterbury that all but wrapped up the club’s spot in the finals.
Not so long ago Mamouzelos was billed as the club's long-term replacement for Damien Cook.
But his lack of gametime in 2026 has meant that Mamouzelos has been linked with a deal in England to play under ex-Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou at London Broncos.
He has also been floated as a target for PNG Chiefs although their officials say they have not spoken to the Souths hooker, who has another year to run on his current deal.
"I just want to get through this year, I’m still contracted for next year, so I'd love to be here, but I don't know," Mamouzelos told AAP.
"I want to be playing first grade every week. I'm not really fussy on starting and to be fair, I was starting here last year and I got put on the bench and never complained.
"If that's what the team needed, that's what I was going to do.
"I love these boys so if I can be here, I want to be with them, but sometimes footy doesn't work out like that."
Adding to Mamouzelos’ frustration is the fact that while the Greek international has had to prove his worth in NSW Cup, Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett has attempted to fashion forward Adam Elliott into a back-up No.9 to first-choice hooker Brandon Smith.
Souths can lock up a finals spot with a win over the Warriors on Saturday and Mamouzelos is desperate to show he can be a difference maker for the Bunnies.
"These are the environments that I want to play in and no disrespect to (NSW) Cup, but I don't want to be there," Mamouzelos said.
"I want to be in the first-grade team, and I want to be playing every week because I know what I can add to the team and I want to prove what I can do.
"I was playing 80 minutes in Cup, so fitness is probably one (I was told to work on), and then just my running game and my defence, there wasn't one thing in particular.
"I’d love to make a difference for this team, coming off the bench for ‘Cheese’ (Smith) like at the start of the year, I thought that worked well and I was enjoying it so hopefully I get a chance again."
