After being given skipper Greg Inglis' blessing to wear the No.1 jersey in 2019, Alex Johnston has set his eyes on being South Sydney's fullback for the rest of his NRL career.
Upon his arrival at Redfern, Wayne Bennett told Inglis the fullback gig was his if he wanted it, arguing that's where the Queensland and Australian champion played his best football.
But a pre-season curtailed by a knee injury and a shoulder problem which kept him out of last weekend's win over the Gold Coast convinced Inglis to stay in the centres, and he says he'll remain there the rest of the season.
When he was told by Bennett during the pre-season that he planned to use him on the wing, Johnston, 24, refused to kick stones and his perseverance has now paid off.
"I didn't take it in a bad way at all. As I always said, if he goes to fullback, I go to the wing and I score a few tries. I'm at 80 but I want to get to 100 pretty quick.
"What Greg's done in the game, he's earned that right," Johnston told AAP.
"The last couple of years have been a learning curve. I've really just wanted to grow and I feel like I'm cementing that spot at fullback.
"I want to be the fullback at Souths for the rest of my career."
Johnston was linked with North Queensland during the off-season as a replacement for banned fullback Ben Barba but talks did not advance very far.
He is signed with the Rabbitohs until 2020 and faces a challenge from Junior Kangaroos custodian Corey Allan, who will play his third first grade game against Manly on Saturday.
"I feel like fullback is my position now," Johnston said.
"This year I'm trying to assert myself a lot more ... be calling plays, be more active out there in attack and get my hands on the ball a bit more.
"When you're in that spine, you need to be dominant because people listen to you."
Johnston said the No.1 jumper was near and dear to his heart and he saw it as iconic.
"Having that No.1 on your back, it's something I had growing up and you look at all the great fullbacks in the game ... so many great players have defined the No.1 jersey," he said.
"It's the jersey to have for me."
