Wayne Bennett will be forced to pull several Rabbitohs out of his hat with more than $3 million of star power sidelined for Thursday's blockbuster clash with premiers Melbourne.
South Sydney will go into one of the modern game's more intense rivalries without three of their biggest names, with Adam Reynolds (thumb), Cameron Murray (ankle) and Latrell Mitchell (suspension) are unavailable and amounting to around $2.4 million in salaries alone.
Reynolds is facing up to six weeks out pending a surgical consult, Murray and centre Campbell Graham (broken hand) will both be sidelined for the next month and young winger Jaxson Paulo (fractured wrist) won't be in action for up to eight weeks.