Captain sensible: Murray's plan to 'play smarter' in big games

South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray admits he'll have to play “a bit smarter” if he's to get through the Telstra Premiership finals series and hopefully lead his team into another decider.

With the star lock getting his head caught in the wrong spot twice in the past two months, the 24-year-old said he has recognised the areas in his game that he needs to adjust to avoid further concussions.

“It wasn’t ideal and I’ve spoken a little bit about it with the coach after my head knock in Origin and now this one because there’s a bit of a trend there,” Murray told NRL.com at the NRL Telstra Finals Launch on Monday.

“I think every time I’ve got a head knock over the last two years, it’s been the first tackle I’ve made in the game.

“So I think there’s probably a little bit of over-excitement and emotion there and I’m probably being a little bit reckless with where I put my body and the position I put myself in so I’ll have to be a bit smarter there if I want to continue playing the big games.”

Murray plans to return to training on Tuesday and says he “will be ready to go” for Sunday's elimination final against the Roosters back at Allianz Stadium.

“Obviously I’ll have to rebuild again after what happened on the weekend, it wasn’t ideal, but I’m confident I can do it because I’ve done it before. I'm ready to go,” he said.

“After Origin III, I felt like I played my best footy after that so the good thing is my body will be fresh and I’m looking forward to it.”

The South Sydney junior is no stranger to the age-old rivalry between the two foundation clubs and has played a key role in one of the recent chapters in the “book of feuds”.

“Nat (Butcher) was a Souths junior. I grew up a year younger than him and he was a bit of a star back in the day," he said.

“My first year of SG Ball, I was 17 and he was 18, and he was locked in as the captain and lock of the side but  before the season started he left early and went to the Roosters.

“I got my call-up after he opened the door for me and now it’s just another page in the book of feuds I suppose.

“I don’t really think twice about it now but he’s been in some really good form this year so it’s been good to see from afar.”

Needing to avenge Friday night's 26-16 loss to the Roosters to keep their season alive, Murray admits it's a "pinch yourself moment” to be leading the Rabbitohs into a final against their oldest rival.

“I remember the rivalry more so as a supporter, I grew up a Souths supporter, so I’ve always known what that rivalry’s like,” he said.