South Sydney ‘desperate’ for Lewis Dodd exit as Super League stumbling block revealed

South Sydney Rabbitohs half-back Lewis Dodd has been tipped to make a return to Super League for the 2026 season, but there is a key stumbling block over any potential move. 

The former St Helens man has struggled in his maiden season in the NRL, making just six first-grade appearances for his new side after falling behind Jamie Humphries and Cody Walker in the half-back depth chart. Of his six appearances, only three came in the starting 13, too.

Around that, he has also found himself on the receiving end of heavy criticism from pundits, with Souths boss Wayne Bennett later questioning if he was NRL standard.

“It might not even be his form; it might be his ability,” said Bennett. “You work it out.

“He’s in a tough place. The harshest thing that can happen to a player is to be told you’re not in first grade when you think you should be a first-grader. I won’t add to it. People can work it out for themselves.”

‘I think he’ll finish up in the Super League’

That has all come to suggest Dodd is set to leave Souths sooner rather than later, with the club also willing to front some of the money to pay him out of the rest of his contract, and he has now been tipped to make a return to Super League.

“Souths are desperate to get rid of him (Dodd), they need his space in the cap,” respected NRL journalist Buzz Rothfield said on Triple M. “I think he’ll finish up in the Super League.”

However, Rothfeld also detailed that there is a major stumbling block over any possible move, with Dodd recently changing management.

“The news I have is that it’s not going to happen anytime soon, because he’s had a parting of company with his manager, and what that means is that there’s a month cooling-off period. He’s joined the David Riolo stable, so David Riolo is sitting there and can’t do a thing.

“Souths need his money to sign David Fifita, and other players, from 1st November, but they can’t offload Lewis Dodd.

Dodd is currently under contract with South Sydney until the end of the 2027 season, after penning a lucrative $2 million deal to join the club last year.

“It was a bad, bad signing,” Rothfeld continued. “I’d like to see someone at Souths say ‘self-reflection, my choice, my mistake’.”

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