South Sydney coach Michael Maguire has promised Rabbitohs fans that the NRL premiers are well prepared for life without Sam Burgess.
Burgess is favoured to win the prestigious Golden Boot award on Friday as the world player of the year after inspiring Souths to a drought-breaking first grand final triumph since 1971.
The Rabbitohs want to become the first team to land back-to-back NRL premierships in 22 years but they'll have to do it without the Bath-based Burgess who is chasing a place in England's 2015 Rugby World Cup squad.
Maguire is banking on big-name recruits Glenn Stewart and Tim Grant as well as the club's emerging young forwards to fill the void of the colossal Clive Churchill Medallist.
"We all know what Sam meant to the club and obviously he's left a great legacy behind," Maguire said on Wednesday.
"But for us now, that chapter has finished up and I've got a Timmy Grant and Glenn Stewart coming in and I've got a lot of young kids that are going into the squad.
"They're all very hungry."
Insisting there's no complacency in the ranks, Maguire is hoping his decision to take the squad to Arizona for 18 days' pre-season training will freshen his charges up for the challenges ahead.
"We had a lot of different experiences as a group together," he said.
"Whether or not we were going up and down the Grand Canyon or climbing large mountains, the boys put a lot of effort into the training they did at altitude.
"We're well aware of the bar every year going to new heights."
As well as being without Burgess, the Rabbitohs have also lost State of Origin forward Ben Te'o to rugby union, while grand final centre Kirisome Auva'a has been suspended indefinitely after being found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Also, veteran wingers Lote Tuqiri and Nathan Merritt have retired.
But Maguire said "the euphoria of what's happened (in 2014) makes you want more of that".
After eight years at Penrith, Grant admitted joining the Rabbitohs was "a little bit daunting" at first.
"I've been at Penrith for a long time," said the former NSW State of Origin prop.
"But I got the opportunity to go away with the boys and live with them for two weeks and that made the transition a lot easier.
"I'm living down in the eastern suburbs now and I'm really part of the community, so it's been awesome.
"To be honest, I don't feel like I've got anything to prove to anyone."
Souths have a bumper program before embarking on their title defence.
The Rabbitohs contest the two-day Auckland Nines from January 31, take on St George Illawarra in the Charity Shield at ANZ Stadium on February 7 and then feature in the inaugural World Club Challenge series in the UK.
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