South Sydney Rabbitohs make major Lewis Dodd NRL call
Lewis Dodd has been given his first start by South Sydney.
South Sydney Rabbitohs have resisted the temptation to hand Lewis Dodd his first NRL start once again despite more senior spine players being ruled out.
Dodd has struggled for opportunities since making the switch Down Under to join the Rabbitohs. He made his long-awaited debut earlier this month, but only from the interchange bench, being limited to around 20 minutes of action.
He then again was on the bench last week – but reports in Australia on Monday from Code Sports initially suggested he could be brought into the fold to form part of another new-look half-back pairing for Wayne Bennett.
Bennett has had little continuity in the spine so far in 2025, a point which has been further underlined by the loss of Latrell Mitchell this weekend. He has been suspended for one-match after a high tackle last time out against Melbourne.
And Code reported that Jye Gray will revert from half-back to fullback as a result of Mitchell being missing – but that proved to be wide of the mark.
Dodd trained directly alongside Jayden Sullivan at the beginning of this week – hinting that he would indeed finally be given his first start in the NRL. But instead, Dodd remains on an extended interchange bench with Jack Wighton coming into the halves.
Dodd would appear to be in a straight shootout with Josh Schuster for a bench spot. If Schuster did come in from the cold, he would feature in his first NRL game from the bench since August 2023.
The former St Helens star has had to be patient since leaving Super League. However, he must remain patient for a shot at a starting berth.
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