They say love comes to those who wait, but South Sydney NRL star Greg Inglis hopes he doesn't have to wait long before getting his hands back on his beloved No.1 jersey.
Inglis will make his NRL return from a knee reconstruction in Saturday's clash with the Warriors in Perth.
The 31-year-old, who played just 20 minutes during the pre-season, has been named at centre in a bid to manage his workload.
But Inglis is desperate to win back his customary fullback spot in the near future.
Alex Johnston has been named at fullback for the round-one game at the new $1.5 billion Optus Stadium, and the 23-year-old is set to stay there for the early part of the season.
But Inglis tried his best to throw up a curve ball on Wednesday when asked if there was a chance he could make a late dash to start at fullback this weekend.
"That's the position I love playing," Inglis said.
"We're still ticking over with dynamics of the team and we've still got to get through the next two days.
"Is there a chance (I could play there on Saturday)? You'll have to wait and see."
But coach Anthony Seibold was quick to play down that prospect.
"No, there's no chance mate," Seibold said, with a chuckle.
"He's going to play left centre.
"Alex Johnston's had a good pre-season playing fullback for us.
"We're really comfortable with him being there at the moment."
Seibold wants to see Inglis return to fullback but only when the time is right.
"In my opinion, Greg's best position is fullback," he said.
"It's a challenging injury to come back from. Greg's put in a lot of hard work.
"We sat down in my office one day and had a chat about what's best for us as a team and what's best for Greg coming back, and we both decided that playing in the centres initially was best for all parties concerned.
"But Greg's an elite fullback. One of the best that's ever been.
"At some stage, when Greg comes in and has a chat and says, 'Listen, I think I'm ready to go back there', we'll sit down and have a conversation about it then."
Seibold will be aiming to start his coaching tenure on a winning note after taking over from Michael Maguire at the end of last season.
The Rabbitohs finished 12th last season with a 9-15 record but a successful return from Inglis could turn their fortunes around.
Inglis tore the ACL in his left knee in round one last year and said it was hard to predict how he'll fare in his NRL return this weekend.
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