The phone call driving Wighton in Rabbitohs return

Jack Wighton looks at his phone and his heart sinks. 

The Rabbitohs team manager is calling and that can only mean one thing. Wighton has been charged by the NRL Match Review Committee. 

On this occasion, the South Sydney centre has been hit with a Grade 2 Careless High Tackle Charge and has been handed a one-game suspension.

It's the morning after a stirring Round 1 victory over the Dolphins and the call immediately takes the gloss off a successful start to the Wayne Bennett era. 

"You're waiting [the next day] and you get a phone call from the club and you know," Wighton told NRL.com. "You instantly just think about the lads you let down. 

"You think about your coach and the teammates that you let down. That's your first thought and then you've just got to deal with it. 

"You don't mean to do it, the game's getting faster and harder and sometimes things happen. There was no malice and I didn't mean to do it but you've just got to take it and hope the boys do the job while you're out."

That's exactly what Wighton's teammates did last weekend, the centre watching from the sidelines as emerging halfback Jamie Humphreys kicked South Sydney to a come-from-behind win over the Dragons. 

The Rabbitohs are just one of five teams to remain unbeaten after the first two rounds however both their victories have come over teams who missed the eight last year.

Saturday's clash with Cronulla at Sharks Stadium is a new test against a top-four team and genuine premiership contender. 

A South Sydney win will send an early signal to the rest of the competition that Bennett is successfully weaving his magic in his return to the club. They may be undermanned but the Rabbitohs are not to be discounted as they chase their first 3-0 start since 2019.

Wighton isn't thinking that far ahead, instead he's focused on making up for lost time in his return to the field. 

"I'm not overthinking it," he said. "I've just got to get back in the team and do my part. 

"Every game is a test, we saw that last weekend with all the different results. This early in the game you've got to try and tick off the two points [each week] and to do that we'll just keep putting our best foot forward."

The Sharks have returned to Cronulla full of confidence after an epic 29,000 kilometre journey to play their first two games. 

While Craig Fitzgibbon's men fell to Penrith in Las Vegas, they took flight in Townsville with a 36-12 win over the Cowboys last Saturday. 

A full house will greet the team at Sharks Stadium on Saturday and forward Addin Fonua-Blake is expecting a hard-fought contest. 

"All Wayne Bennett coached teams are teams that like to get in the grind and be physical," Fonua-Blake said. "We're expecting that and we're going to have to bite down on a mouth guard and go set for set with them and see who cracks first."

Bennett has made a late reshuffle to his backline for Saturday's clash, with Mikaele Ravalawa to make his first appearance for the Rabbitohs.

The Fijian international joined the club at the start of the week and is set to line up on the right wing alongside centre Campbell Graham. 

Wighton will combine with Isaiah Tass on the left flank and Bennett is confident he will have a big impact in both attack and defence.

"He's a player that's played for Australia and NSW so he's above average," Bennett said. "I love his enthusiasm, his passion and he's a great talker out there to the other players. 

"He's played a lot of positions in his time so he's well versed in all that. Last week we missed him and I'm glad he's back now."