South Sydney rookie Adam Doueihi will have to overcome a daunting record for new halfbacks at the Rabbitohs in his NRL debut against Penrith.
Souths have it all against them heading into Saturday's clash, having traditionally struggled in weeks after Perth trips.
They will also take on the Panthers without injured playmaker Adam Reynolds.
In his place Doueihi is set to become the 46th Rabbitoh to run out as a halfback since their most experienced No.7 Craig Coleman debuted in 1982.
And if history is anything to go by, the 19-year-old has a tough weekend ahead of him at Panthers Stadium.
Of the 45 players to have played No.7 for Souths in the 26 years since Coleman first wore the famous jumper, only nine - or 20 per cent - have tasted success in their first outing at halfback.
That number shrinks even further when the match has doubled up as their NRL debut, with Chris Sandow's man-of-the-match effort in 2008 against the Warriors the only time a Rabbitoh of the era to win in their maiden NRL game while wearing No.7.
But South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold said the Lebanese World Cup representative, who has had 50 tickets allocated for family and friends for his debut, had shown him he could stand up at NRL level.
"Although he doesn't have the experience of (Renyolds) he brings a lot of energy and is really excited about making his debut for the club," Seibold said.
"He's a big halfback. Everyone commented about that, he's got a really good running game, we want him to bring that - it's a real weapon for him."
Doueihi was presented with his Souths jersey by Reynolds on Friday as the regular half began his four-week recovery from a knee problem.
Reynolds' injury-riddled summer, which included a foot problem, has at least given Doueihi the advantage of playing 80 minutes in both trials for the Rabbitohs and training closely with five-eighth Cody Walker.
"They do have a connection there and they trained a fair bit over the pre-season together," Seibold said.
Souths' challenge is made harder by last week's trip to Perth and loss to the Warriors.
They have won the week after a Perth trip just twice in the past nine years, with the long haul appearing to have significantly hurt the group in recent years.
"We weren't happy with the result over there," Seibold said.
"We showed some good signs as an attacking point of view ... but we need to improve defensively.
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