Last Rabbit standing: Lewis Dodd to finally wear South Sydney's No. 7
Jamie Humphreys will miss Saturday's clash against Cronulla because of delayed concussion symptoms he experienced after last weekend's loss to Penrith, joining fellow playmakers Cody Walker (hamstring) and Bud Sullivan (broken leg), as well as Latrell Mitchell (quad) who has filled in at five-eighth, in the bulging casualty ward.
Dodd left St Helens in the Super League to ink a three-year, $2m deal with Souths, but has struggled to get a look-in under coach Wayne Bennett.
The 23-year-old has featured in just four games, with three of them coming off the bench, and one at five-eighth.
Teammate Jai Arrow, who remains the only player to have featured in every game this year, especially now Keaon Koloamatangi (ankle) is sidelined, said Dodd welcomed the news when told by Bennett he would be starting at halfback on Monday.
'It's amazing what an opportunity can do for someone, Lewis has that opportunity now to start at halfback, and to make this team his own,' Arrow said.
'It's exactly what happened with Jamie at the start of the year, he got that opportunity and took it with both hands.
'Now 'Doddy' gets to do that, I'm excited for him, we're all excited for him, and I know when Wayne told him at the review, he clapped to himself and knew he was ready. He was pretty pumped.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
6 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'I've really fallen in love': Heartbreak for Nine superstar Danika Mason as rugby league player boyfriend Liam Knight makes a huge call on his future
Channel Nine star Danika Mason's immediate future with her rugby league player boyfriend Liam Knight has suffered a massive blow. Mason and Knight have been living on opposite sides of the globe for five months since the sports star joined England's Super League club Hull F.C. in March, with Mason remaining in Australia, reporting for Nine in Sydney. The forward has now been rewarded for his excellent form at the start of the 2025 season with a 12-month contract extension. The news opens the possibility the couple will be forced to continue their long-distance relationship for many more months to come. Knight, who formerly played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and Canberra Raiders, has impressed with 10 appearances for Hull FC with the club recently praising his "powerhouse" status. Speaking about his contract extension on Thursday, Knight said he looked forward to staying on. "I'm stoked to be staying here – I really love this club and I'm really excited to see what we can keep building over the next 12 months," he said. "I've really fallen in love with the fans and the atmosphere, both home and away – they're so dedicated. "I love the playing group we have here and the coaching staff too – it's a fun place to come to work and that's being reflected in our performances." Knight also said coming to England was a "clean slate" after he suffered a few tough years in Australia due to injury. "I've really found my love for the sport again, so this move has been a massive blessing for me." Mason and Knight went public with their relationship in 2024, with the rugby league player taking to Instagram to post a picture embracing the Wide World of Sports presenter with the caption: "My life's good". The couple have since jetsetted around the globe, with Mason travelling to London last October before holidaying together in Italy and France. The journalist was previously engaged to Todd Liubinskas before abruptly calling off their wedding with just weeks to go in September 2023. She later cited trust as the reason for the breakdown of her relationship with the personal trainer, after more than three years together. 'To be honest, it feels like a lot of time ago now. So much has happened since, and I haven't actually spoken about it,' Mason told Stellar in April. 'It certainly was an emotional rollercoaster. When someone hurts you like that, you experience all the emotions from sadness to shock to anger. ''But sometimes you just have to get through it." "You've got no option, would ask me, 'Are you OK?' And I'd say, 'Not right now, but I will be'.' Mason has become a familiar face during Nine's NRL broadcasts. She added another major role to her busy schedule, being appointed Today's new sports presenter following the sacking of Alex Cullen.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
‘Funny couple of weeks': Luke Garner declares he'll be at the Panthers next year after reports he could have been granted early release
Edge forward Luke Garner says he 'didn't enjoy' the past few weeks of uncertainty as he weighed up a potential early release from his Panthers deal, but he's glad it's all sorted now with confirmation he'll be at Penrith in 2026. Garner still has a year to run on his current deal but was given permission by the club to see if he could land a long-term contract at another team. Several Sydney clubs were reportedly interested in his services, but the two-time premiership winner will stay at the Panthers in 2026. 'My understanding is he is staying, which is great,' coach Ivan Cleary said last week. 'We always wanted him to stay. It was one of the situations where if he can have a look and extend you maybe think about it. 'But we're really happy, he is playing great footy and looking forward to the future with him. 'He has been really good for us, which we've needed.' Garner arrived at the Panthers in 2023 after claiming the wooden spoon with the Wests Tigers the previous year, with the versatile back-rower winning back-to-back titles coming off the bench in his two seasons with the mountain men. He's been handy coming off the bench but has also been strong whenever he's started in the back row or in the centres, with Garner just glad the situation has sorted itself out on the eve of the finals. 'It's been an interesting and funny past couple of weeks. It's something I'm not used to and I don't really enjoy,' he told the NewsWire following Penrith's big win over his former team on the weekend. 'I'll be at Penrith next year. 'I was looking elsewhere and the club was gracious enough to allow me to do that. But a big part of me didn't want to leave, and I won't be. I'll be here again next year.' Garner has started the past five matches in the back row and Cleary now has a tough choice to make with rep star Liam Martin returning from injury via the bench against the Tigers. Martin will start on the right edge going forward, with Garner and Scott Sorensen to fight it out for the other starting spot. 'I really enjoy my footy here, I love this club and I love the way that we've been playing,' Garner said. 'I just enjoy everyone's company and I can't just see myself leaving quite yet. I'm stoked to be here again. 'Ivan and I never spoke about it. He's a cool and calm dude, so it never came up. We had a little interaction the other day when it came out that I was staying, and he just let me know that he was happy that I was staying, and I said the same thing. 'He's an unreal coach and I love being coached by him.'
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Premiership is there for the taking if Raiders can hold their nerve
The Warriors are without form halfback Luke Metcalf after he suffered an ACL injury. He's out until mid-2026, and his absence showed in a poor loss to the lowly Titans at home on Saturday. Penrith are coming for their spot in the four. Metcalf's loss was a bitter blow as the Warriors looked like being real contenders this season after teasing everybody with a preliminary final appearance in 2023. They last made the grand final in 2011. The Bulldogs are top-two bound but have taken the ultimate gamble with the mid-season signing of teenager Lachie Galvin, who has been tasked with steering them to the premiership after unseating Toby Sexton as halfback. As good as he may be now, or one day, that is a massive ask of an inexperienced, 19-year-old No.7. It appears the Bulldogs think this year it might be all coming up a bit early for them, and with Galvin they are investing in sustained success in future years. The thing about future years is that there are no certainties. Brisbane had the 2023 grand final won until Nathan Cleary's quarter-hour of magic gave Penrith another title. Fast-forward a year and the Broncos missed the finals, and Kevin Walters was gone. Parramatta made the grand final in 2022. Poor results since then meant coach Brad Arthur was axed midway through season 2024. And here's a list of players from their 17 that night – less than three years ago – who have departed: Clint Gutherson; Maika Sivo; Waqa Blake; Reagan Campbell-Gillard; Reed Mahoney; Shaun Lane; Isaiah Papali'i; Marate Niukore; Ryan Matterson; Nathan Brown; Jake Arthur and Oregon Kaufusi. Add Dylan Brown, who is leaving at the end of the season and is currently being left out of the side. They are now light years from the finals, let alone a grand final or a premiership. Some windows of opportunity are tiny. Minuscule even. History is littered with teams which made the grand final only to fall away over following years. Premierships are hard to win, and when you have even the slightest sniff, you have to take it – right here, right now. Just below the top four is where the real danger lurks for Canberra. That's where you find the resurgent Panthers, just three premiership points adrift of the Warriors and with their old guard of Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Dylan Edwards and Brian To'o fit and in form. Look out. They've won seven games straight. Their premiership window has been open so long now it seems like an endless summer. The Broncos are two wins behind fourth, but Friday night's loss to the Eels exposed them. Loading Their secret in a five-match winning streak before Friday was the re-emergence of Reece Walsh, who resembled his 2023-like self after a woeful start to the year in which he averaged about 70 run metres a match over the first half-dozen rounds and routinely sent passes flying over the sideline or into the dirt. Against Parramatta, that early season Walsh made an unwelcome return, complete with passes over the sideline and the sideways running. He let a bomb bounce and conceded a try. There was one flash of brilliance for a Billy Walters try, but a team can't win a title when their fullback is headless. What coach Ricky Stuart and the front office led by Don Furner have done at Canberra is to be admired.
