Bennett wants Murray, the reigning Dally M lock of the year, to play as an edge back-rower in 2020 to fill the void left by the departures of Sam Burgess and John Sutton.

Kangeroos star Murray, 22, scored 12 tries in 26 appearances for the Rabbitohs in 2019.

Bennett says the positional switch will give the NRL club more flexibility, and that Murray will play in a mixture of positions.

"We want to make him more versatile and a bit more valuable to us in other ways," Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"He can play on either edge, he's capable of doing that. I'll make a final decision on which edge he plays on, but he can also play in the middle. It will be a mixture of both those positions.

"The way he plays, he can tell me whatever number he wants and he can have it. He's not a big guy and he plays above his weight. We don't want to kill him.

"It will give us more flexibility around the interchange and he can play in vital parts of the game.

"He's got a great future, he's capitalising on that and has already played for Australia."

Bennett also confirmed that Liam Knight, who recently signed a new four-year deal at the club, will be given an opportunity to make the lock-forward spot his own.

Australian Associated Press