Inglis needs to convince trainer he'll be fit for Charity Shield

It seems Greg Inglis has a fight on his hands if he wants to play Charity Shield in Mudgee next month.

The 32-year-old South Sydney captain has been given the all-clear from new coach Wayne Bennett to take on the Dragons on March 2 but he's run into a hurdle with Rabbitohs high performance head, Jarrod Wade.

And since the pair have a strong relationship after working together to bring the Test and Origin star back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in early 2017, Inglis is likely to listen to him.

"I could be up for Charity Shield. I asked Wayne [Bennett] and he said 'If you think you're ready'," Inglis said on Thursday. "And I said I know I'm ready.

"I had a chat with Jarrod, who's been my conditioner the last few years getting me back from my ACL, and he said the only reason they played me [in the Charity Shield] last year was that I was coming back from an ACL and we wanted to give you that confidence of 20 minutes [playing].

"He said to me 'there's no point in you playing that many trials so we won't play you, just keep you ticking over and get ready for round one'."

Round one is Friday March 15 against the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which commands a respect all of its own.

One thing is certain is that Inglis says he's now lighter than he was this time last year, blowing away reports about him being overweight which surfaced in January.

"It's quite funny isn't it? Do I look like 18 kilos overweight? It started at 15 and then went to 18," he said.

"It's quite ridiculous. I come back usually between five to eight kilos over every season.

"I think I weighed more this time last year going into Charity Shield.

"I'm actually over a kilo lighter than I was 12 months ago. So it's quite embarrassing to hear those stories [about weight] because it's just wrong. It's people making up crap."

Inglis did confirm he will play fullback for Souths this year but fans might see him at centre first-up.

"It depends 'when'. I haven't had the greatest pre-season but I'm coming back into it now," he said.

"The boys have been training without me so I'll be at centre or fullback. Round one we might have AJ [Alex Johnston] at fullback. We have a great calibre players here and they've been training in those positions for the entire pre-season.

"If I am right, it probably will be at fullback in round one but we'll wait and see how those first two to three weeks pan out and go from there."