'Grandad would be proud': Third-gen Humphreys making name for himself

Jamie Humphreys is among just a handful of third-generation stars to play at the elite level and the rookie Rabbitohs halfback hopes his feats can inspire more family members to join him in the NRL.

Humphreys, who kicked a winning field goal in just his third NRL appearance as South Sydney triumphed 25-24 defeat of St George Illawarra, is following in the footsteps of his father Stephen and grandfather Kevin.  

Stephen Humphreys played 42 first grade matches as a fullback or winger for Balmain (1983-1987) - one less than his own father, Kevin, who made 43 top grade appearances for the Tigers at prop between 1953 and 1956.

Both later became administrators, with Kevin Humphreys, who passed away in 2010, playing an instrumental role in the development of State of Origin and the game's first broadcast deal in his role as ARL chairman. 

Stephen Humphreys was Wests Tigers CEO from 2009 to 2013 and later joined Manly as chief executive between 2019 and 2022.

“It's pretty cool, I know my grandmother is really proud, so is my mum and my dad," Jamie said.

"My grandad up there would be very proud watching down."

One of eight siblings, Humphreys hopes his feats with the Rabbitohs can motivate his younger brothers, Logan (13), Liam (11) and Connor (9), who play in the Manly junior competition, to become future NRL players.

"I’ve got a few younger brothers who love their footy as well. Hopefully I can be a bit of an inspiration for them," he said.

Humphreys joined a small group of third generation players when he made his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles last season against Newcastle, including Bulldogs forward Max King and Sharks fullback Kade Dykes.

King is the game's only fourth generation player, with father David playing for Gold Coast (1991-92), grandfather Johnny winning seven premierships with St George in a career spanning from 1960 to 1971 and great grandfather Cec playing Souths.

Dykes is the son of former Cronulla and Parramatta five-eighth Adam, whose own father John had stints with the Roosters, Rabbitohs, Sharks and Panthers.

Other third generation players include former Manly second-rower Zac Fulton (now with Bradford Bulls), who is the grandson of rugby league Immortal Bob Fulton and whose father Scott also played for the Sea Eagles.

Former Steelers forward Darren Bradstreet (1997-98) was the son of Manly international Bill Bradstreet (1964-71) and grandson of Fred Bradstreet, who played for North Sydney in 1941.

After leaving Manly at the end of last season, Humphreys has made an impressive start with the Rabbitohs and appears set to be Wayne Bennett's first choice at halfback ahead of English recruit Lewis Dodd.

Despite being without star fullback Latrell Mitchell and captain Cameron Murray, Souths have won their first two matches of the season against the Dolphins and Dragons.

“That's what we spoke about, doing our job no matter who's in the team," Humphreys said.

“There's two points on the line every week in the NRL, so making sure we put our best foot forward for our teammates is the most important thing.

"I feel like we’ve done that in the last two weeks and something we're going to need to keep doing as the season goes on."

Rabbitohs captain Cody Walker commended Humphreys' playmaking vision to be able to put their side in-front with a 30-metre field goal in broken play less than five minutes before full-time.

“I said to him after the game, ‘Were you even thinking about a field goal?' and he said ‘Yeah’. I said that was the last thing on my mind at that point,” Walker said. 

'He’s pretty calm, he doesn't say a lot off the field. When he comes on to the field he is just a competitor, he barks orders and gets us around the park a fair bit. He does a lot of work before training on his body and prep.”