When South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson walked into the Rabbitohs' dressing room after their opening two wins this season, the first people he turned to were not new signings Roy Asotasi, David Kidwell or Nigel Vagana, nor new owners Peter Holmes a Court and Russell Crowe, or even rejuvenated halfback Joe Williams.

The first men Richardson sought after beating the Sydney Roosters in round one and then Parramatta a week later were Scott Geddes, Shane Rigon and Luke Stuart.

"It was a pleasure to see them with a smile on their faces," Richardson said. "I always look to them before I look to anybody else, and I get this really good feeling inside."

Unheralded and underrated, the three are the only remaining members of the Rabbitohs' first-season team from 2002, when the club was readmitted to the premiership. Which means this particular trio has seen its fair share of losing dressing rooms.

Before this season, the club had lost 92 of their 120 matches since they were given their licence back, on the way to placings of 14th, 15th, 15th, 13th and 15th. "After some games, they've looked like a piece of war-torn Europe," Richardson said.

Now they have something to smile about. A new coach, a remodelled office as well as a remodelled line-up - not to mention wardrobe - has left expectations higher than they have been for decades. Despite the talent brought to the club, all three are still playing.

"When we rocked up here at the start of November, it was like we walked into a new club," Stuart said.

But with a new club comes a new set of problems: Rigon was on the verge of securing a deal to play in Britain; Geddes has had awful luck with injuries; and new coach Jason Taylor, in the nicest possible way, felt Stuart was unlikely to be a regular first-grader.

"Luke's been the most impressive for me," Taylor said. "He was one of those guys that when I came here I thought would be good back-up players, but when everyone's fit he was probably going to do it tough. That's just being frank about it.

"But in the trials he was our best player. Last week [against Parramatta] he was our players' player along with Nathan Merritt. He's just been superb. He's a better player than I thought."

After last season, his fifth at the club, Rigon had almost set his sights on a move to the English Super League. Had Castleford, his planned destination, not been relegated from the competition, he would, in all likelihood, be playing there now.

Even then, Rigon was close to joining Hull KR. However, the price wasn't right and the Rabbitohs retained him almost by default.

"It's been a tough five years for all the guys," Rigon said. "We've been on the end of some really terrible losses.

"But it's been great this year. It's a combination of a lot of things: the playing roster is the strongest it's been; JT - I can't speak highly enough of him, he's put so much effort into every individual; and the players are just playing good footy."

The three originals are doing that. And, according to Richardson, they will only get better, considering the talent alongside them in the trenches.

"It's different for them now," he said. "They don't have to carry the whole lot. Now they've got players around them who'll share the load. They've got some really good abilities but they've carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. Maybe it stunted their growth a bit. But they've got a great opportunity to show what they can do themselves."

Taylor agreed: "They were just like all the others. They were yearning for some professionalism and some decent facilities to give their footy a chance to blossom … now they're showing that they're really good players because they've got the opportunity to play in a good team."

Geddes, who Taylor believes will be back to his best this season, admitted the past five seasons had been difficult.

"It's been years of frustration, really," he said. "But there's a new confidence in the place. It's a lot more professional there. It's just the feeling in the place, the confidence and the work ethic, from the blokes right at the top down to the waterboys."

But despite the lean years, he said he never really thought seriously about leaving, despite admitting to regularly "feeling like shit" after games. Now he aims to play out his career at the club.

Which means Richardson will be making a dressing-room beeline for Geddes and co for some time yet.