South Sydney have copped a blow on the eve of their NRL preliminary final with in-form centre Campbell Graham ruled out with a groin injury.
The 21-year-old was set for an electric battle with Penrith star Stephen Crichton, with at least one spot in the NSW Origin squad up for grabs between the pair.
However, on Friday morning Souths coach Wayne Bennett said Graham had been managing the injury for weeks and could not recover quickly enough for Saturday's clash at ANZ Stadium.
Should Souths win through to the grand final next Sunday, Bennett is confident he will be right to play.
"He hasn't had enough time to get it right. He's been managing it for about a month now but we've had a seven-day turn around and it's not long enough this time," Bennett said.
In a twist of fate it opens the door for Jed Cartwright to move into the centres against his former club, having been released by the Panthers mid-season.
The 23-year-old has played just six first-grade games - only one of which was for Penrith in his NRL debut last season.
Cartwright has played Souths' last five games from the interchange bench as either a second-rower or centre but Bennett is confident he could get the job done against his former club.
"We're very confident in him," Bennett said.
"He's played a lot of centre in his football career, it's not something he hasn't played before."
It will be a full-circle moment for Cartwright, who's surname is synonymous with the Penrith club.
His father John won a premiership with the Panthers in 1991 and grandfather Merv was one of the club's founding fathers.
On Friday afternoon Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said he wished Cartwright luck, but not too much.
"It's funny how things work out," Cleary said.
"He got an opportunity mid-season, signed a multi-year deal at Souths and it was probably the best thing for him, so we allowed him to go this year to chase that opportunity and now he's in a preliminary final against his old club.
"It's a great opportunity for him and we wish him all the best."
