“There’s more to come from him, and once he gets settled in, and we get more quality ball to him, he’ll be even better again.

“We said before the game he had earned the right to be here, and he should go out and enjoy it. One game was not going to define him. It’s just the start.”

Mitchell, who is serving a three-match ban for elbowing New Zealand Warriors’ playmaker Shaun Johnson in the head, was happy to mentor Gray leading into the match.

“That’s the side of Latrell we love, he knows where he can have an impact and how powerful his voice is, and a guy like Jye idolises him,” Demetriou said.

Mitchell won two premierships playing centre, and represented both NSW and Australia. Commentators and coaches, including Wayne Bennett, have backed Mitchell to make a successful transition to five-eighth and play alongside Cody Walker in the halves.

Gray’s debut included plenty of physicality from Cronulla. Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo rushed up and flattened Gray on a couple of occasions – one of those tackles forcing Gray to undergo a HIA.

Gray grew up playing as a five-eighth but is just as happy at fullback.

“‘JD’ has been so good to me, I’ve been here 18 months, he’s taught me heaps, he can put his trust in me, and I’ll return the favour,” Gray said.

“I’ve got Trell in front of me [at No. 1], Cody in front of me at No. 6, that’s very difficult competition, but wherever the coaches need me I’ll play.

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“Trell helped me with my nerves pre-game. He came up to me and said, ‘back yourself’. During the week he also helped guide me around. I only moved to fullback earlier this year, and he was telling me where I needed to be positioned.”

Souths play the Storm and Penrith after their bye. Penrith’s No. 1, Dylan Edwards, made a point of watching Gray’s first game.

“I thought he was really impressive, he was fast, elusive and strong, and organised them really well in defence – he put himself in a position to make some good [defensive] plays,” Edwards said.