Hame Sele might not be the biggest prop in the NRL but the South Sydney forward may be critical to stopping the juggernaut of Penrith from reaching a third-straight grand final.
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Sele has been named to start on the bench against his former club alongside fellow forwards Jed Cartwright, Michael Chee Kam and utility Kodi Nikorima.
How Souths coach Jason Demetriou uses his interchange will be critical if they are to upset the Panthers in Saturday's preliminary final given the unavailability of Tom Burgess and Siliva Havili.
Statistically, Penrith grind opposition teams down early in each half before inflicting damage closer towards halftime and fulltime when the likes of Sele have been introduced.
Boasting a lighter, more durable bench with Sele as the only natural prop may help the Rabbitohs go the distance with the ultra-fit Panthers.
"That's our strength as a pack - our legspeed and our tough carries," Sele told AAP.
"If we can do that and keep ourselves on the front foot then that allows Latrell (Mitchell) and Cody (Walker) to take care of the rest.
"We aren't really looking at how we can beat them because we want to make sure that we bring our best footy to the table.
"We know if we play our best footy, I'm sure we can give them a shock."
Sele made an impression in his debut season with St George Illawarra in 2017 but injuries and form prevented him from making an impact when he moved to Penrith in 2019.
Since arriving at Redfern to work with Demetriou, who coached him at the Dragons in 2016, he has begun to find his groove clocking up 13 appearances this year - the most since his debut season.
"It's been a crazy ride," he said.
"I couldn't get in the team (at the Dragons) and I was told I wasn't wanted at the club and then I had the same issue at Penrith.
"Penrith have grown since 2020 they're like the new Melbourne Storm and they are hard to beat, that's the challenge for us."
Australian Associated Press
