Latest news with #Rabbitoh
The Advertiser
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Souths' Arrow can only laugh as yet another injured
Jai Arrow can only laugh at how bad South Sydney's injury crisis has become as halfback Jamie Humphreys becomes the latest Rabbitoh sidelined. A head knock has ruled Humphreys out of Saturday's clash against Cronulla, so English recruit Lewis Dodd looks set for a second start at halfback in a season spent out of Wayne Bennett's favour. Humphreys joins Latrell Mitchell, Keaon Koloamatangi, Cam Murray, Pete Mamouzelos, Jayden Sullivan, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham among others in a packed casualty ward at 15th-placed Souths. "This morning, I went in and saw the physio and the rehab crew, there's a pretty solid 1-13 (team) there," Arrow said at the media launch for Saturday's Beer Footy Food Festival at Henson Park. The ankle injury Koloamatangi suffered against Penrith will mean Arrow finishes the Sharks clash as one of only two Rabbitohs to have played every game this year - along with Tallis Duncan. For comparison, Cronulla have had seven players feature in every game so far. Arrow could only laugh when he heard the club had been struck by even more misfortune out of last week's loss to the Panthers, which effectively ended the club's finals hopes. "I just started giggling to myself, to be honest," Arrow said. "It's pretty crazy and pretty laughable with the amount of people we have missing at the moment. "But it is what it is, all you've got to do is keep turning up and enjoying each other's company and turn up for each other on the field. That's all we can do, really." Arrow says there's been no secret sauce for staying fit; if anything, he's the type to take a less-is-more approach to his preparation. "My prep is sitting down, having a coffee with my boys and having a good yarn," he said. "I'm just glad, touchwood, that I haven't had any niggles." The last time the Rabbitohs met the Sharks, they were in the midst of a promising start to the season, with the 27-12 loss in round three their only defeat across the first five rounds. Arrow has resisted temptation to ponder what might have been this year for Souths, who are now fighting to avoid a first wooden spoon since 2006. "It's funny, I think back, we were 4-1 at one stage,' he said. "But I'm not one to dwell on the past. It is what it is. The most important thing is that we've got to have faith in each other and just enjoy this next six weeks of playing footy together." Arrow expected Murray would soon make his return from the achilles injury he suffered in the pre-season, with the NSW representative easing back into field work at training. Pundits have questioned why the club would risk bring Murray back from such a delicate injury so late in a campaign destined to finish without finals, but Arrow held no concerns for his captain. "Someone like Cam, he won't play unless he's ready," Arrow said. "I'm sure he'll make the right decision whether he comes back and plays or not but I'm pretty confident we'll be seeing him back in weeks to come in a Rabbitohs jersey." Jai Arrow can only laugh at how bad South Sydney's injury crisis has become as halfback Jamie Humphreys becomes the latest Rabbitoh sidelined. A head knock has ruled Humphreys out of Saturday's clash against Cronulla, so English recruit Lewis Dodd looks set for a second start at halfback in a season spent out of Wayne Bennett's favour. Humphreys joins Latrell Mitchell, Keaon Koloamatangi, Cam Murray, Pete Mamouzelos, Jayden Sullivan, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham among others in a packed casualty ward at 15th-placed Souths. "This morning, I went in and saw the physio and the rehab crew, there's a pretty solid 1-13 (team) there," Arrow said at the media launch for Saturday's Beer Footy Food Festival at Henson Park. The ankle injury Koloamatangi suffered against Penrith will mean Arrow finishes the Sharks clash as one of only two Rabbitohs to have played every game this year - along with Tallis Duncan. For comparison, Cronulla have had seven players feature in every game so far. Arrow could only laugh when he heard the club had been struck by even more misfortune out of last week's loss to the Panthers, which effectively ended the club's finals hopes. "I just started giggling to myself, to be honest," Arrow said. "It's pretty crazy and pretty laughable with the amount of people we have missing at the moment. "But it is what it is, all you've got to do is keep turning up and enjoying each other's company and turn up for each other on the field. That's all we can do, really." Arrow says there's been no secret sauce for staying fit; if anything, he's the type to take a less-is-more approach to his preparation. "My prep is sitting down, having a coffee with my boys and having a good yarn," he said. "I'm just glad, touchwood, that I haven't had any niggles." The last time the Rabbitohs met the Sharks, they were in the midst of a promising start to the season, with the 27-12 loss in round three their only defeat across the first five rounds. Arrow has resisted temptation to ponder what might have been this year for Souths, who are now fighting to avoid a first wooden spoon since 2006. "It's funny, I think back, we were 4-1 at one stage,' he said. "But I'm not one to dwell on the past. It is what it is. The most important thing is that we've got to have faith in each other and just enjoy this next six weeks of playing footy together." Arrow expected Murray would soon make his return from the achilles injury he suffered in the pre-season, with the NSW representative easing back into field work at training. Pundits have questioned why the club would risk bring Murray back from such a delicate injury so late in a campaign destined to finish without finals, but Arrow held no concerns for his captain. "Someone like Cam, he won't play unless he's ready," Arrow said. "I'm sure he'll make the right decision whether he comes back and plays or not but I'm pretty confident we'll be seeing him back in weeks to come in a Rabbitohs jersey." Jai Arrow can only laugh at how bad South Sydney's injury crisis has become as halfback Jamie Humphreys becomes the latest Rabbitoh sidelined. A head knock has ruled Humphreys out of Saturday's clash against Cronulla, so English recruit Lewis Dodd looks set for a second start at halfback in a season spent out of Wayne Bennett's favour. Humphreys joins Latrell Mitchell, Keaon Koloamatangi, Cam Murray, Pete Mamouzelos, Jayden Sullivan, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham among others in a packed casualty ward at 15th-placed Souths. "This morning, I went in and saw the physio and the rehab crew, there's a pretty solid 1-13 (team) there," Arrow said at the media launch for Saturday's Beer Footy Food Festival at Henson Park. The ankle injury Koloamatangi suffered against Penrith will mean Arrow finishes the Sharks clash as one of only two Rabbitohs to have played every game this year - along with Tallis Duncan. For comparison, Cronulla have had seven players feature in every game so far. Arrow could only laugh when he heard the club had been struck by even more misfortune out of last week's loss to the Panthers, which effectively ended the club's finals hopes. "I just started giggling to myself, to be honest," Arrow said. "It's pretty crazy and pretty laughable with the amount of people we have missing at the moment. "But it is what it is, all you've got to do is keep turning up and enjoying each other's company and turn up for each other on the field. That's all we can do, really." Arrow says there's been no secret sauce for staying fit; if anything, he's the type to take a less-is-more approach to his preparation. "My prep is sitting down, having a coffee with my boys and having a good yarn," he said. "I'm just glad, touchwood, that I haven't had any niggles." The last time the Rabbitohs met the Sharks, they were in the midst of a promising start to the season, with the 27-12 loss in round three their only defeat across the first five rounds. Arrow has resisted temptation to ponder what might have been this year for Souths, who are now fighting to avoid a first wooden spoon since 2006. "It's funny, I think back, we were 4-1 at one stage,' he said. "But I'm not one to dwell on the past. It is what it is. The most important thing is that we've got to have faith in each other and just enjoy this next six weeks of playing footy together." Arrow expected Murray would soon make his return from the achilles injury he suffered in the pre-season, with the NSW representative easing back into field work at training. Pundits have questioned why the club would risk bring Murray back from such a delicate injury so late in a campaign destined to finish without finals, but Arrow held no concerns for his captain. "Someone like Cam, he won't play unless he's ready," Arrow said. "I'm sure he'll make the right decision whether he comes back and plays or not but I'm pretty confident we'll be seeing him back in weeks to come in a Rabbitohs jersey."
7NEWS
05-07-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
NRL larrikin Brandon Smith back as Souths cop fresh injury blow to Euan Aitken
NRL larrikin Brandon Smith will make his long-awaited South Sydney club debut as the Rabbitohs cop another blow in a season of injury misfortune. Smith's NRL return comes against Manly some 308 days after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in what turned out to be his last game for the Sydney Roosters. When Smith joined Souths in May, coach Wayne Bennett flagged low expectations of the forward hitting top form on his return from injury this year. But Bennett confirmed on Saturday the 2020 premiership winner will come on from the bench at Brookvale Oval following a leg injury to Euan Aitken. '(Smith) is pretty excited about it all, he's trained pretty well. Everything is right for him to go,' Bennett said. Souths are still determining Aitken's return-to-play timeline as the centre becomes the latest Rabbitoh to be struck down by injury in a difficult 2025 season. Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Cam Murray, Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are among key men to have spent time out of the side this year. The latest injury comes just as 16th-placed Souths appeared to be approaching full strength and could open up a spot for beleaguered Lewis Dodd to return to the halves. Signed before Bennett's coaching return was confirmed, the Englishman has been given only one chance to start in the halves at struggling Souths - at Magic Round amid a slew of injuries. But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. 'He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else,' the coach said. Anthony Seibold insists Tom Trbojevic is happy staying at centre for a consecutive week after a controversial shift from fullback for Manly's win over Wests Tigers. 'He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation,' the Manly coach said. 'He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback.'
The Advertiser
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Brandon Smith in as Souths cop fresh injury blow
NRL larrikin Brandon Smith will make his long-awaited South Sydney club debut as the Rabbitohs cop another blow in a season of injury misfortune. Smith's NRL return comes against Manly some 308 days after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in what turned out to be his last game for the Sydney Roosters. When Smith joined Souths in May, coach Wayne Bennett flagged low expectations of the forward hitting top form on his return from injury this year. But Bennett confirmed on Saturday the 2020 premiership winner will come on from the bench at Brookvale Oval following a leg injury to Euan Aitken. "(Smith) is pretty excited about it all, he's trained pretty well. Everything is right for him to go," Bennett said. Souths are still determining Aitken's return-to-play timeline as the centre becomes the latest Rabbitoh to be struck down by injury in a difficult 2025 season. Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Cam Murray, Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are among key men to have spent time out of the side this year. The latest injury comes just as 16th-placed Souths appeared to be approaching full strength and could open up a spot for beleaguered Lewis Dodd to return to the halves. Signed before Bennett's coaching return was confirmed, the Englishman has been given only one chance to start in the halves at struggling Souths - at Magic Round amid a slew of injuries. But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. "He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else," the coach said. Anthony Seibold insists Tom Trbojevic is happy staying at centre for a consecutive week after a controversial shift from fullback for Manly's win over Wests Tigers. "He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation," the Manly coach said. "He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback." NRL larrikin Brandon Smith will make his long-awaited South Sydney club debut as the Rabbitohs cop another blow in a season of injury misfortune. Smith's NRL return comes against Manly some 308 days after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in what turned out to be his last game for the Sydney Roosters. When Smith joined Souths in May, coach Wayne Bennett flagged low expectations of the forward hitting top form on his return from injury this year. But Bennett confirmed on Saturday the 2020 premiership winner will come on from the bench at Brookvale Oval following a leg injury to Euan Aitken. "(Smith) is pretty excited about it all, he's trained pretty well. Everything is right for him to go," Bennett said. Souths are still determining Aitken's return-to-play timeline as the centre becomes the latest Rabbitoh to be struck down by injury in a difficult 2025 season. Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Cam Murray, Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are among key men to have spent time out of the side this year. The latest injury comes just as 16th-placed Souths appeared to be approaching full strength and could open up a spot for beleaguered Lewis Dodd to return to the halves. Signed before Bennett's coaching return was confirmed, the Englishman has been given only one chance to start in the halves at struggling Souths - at Magic Round amid a slew of injuries. But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. "He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else," the coach said. Anthony Seibold insists Tom Trbojevic is happy staying at centre for a consecutive week after a controversial shift from fullback for Manly's win over Wests Tigers. "He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation," the Manly coach said. "He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback." NRL larrikin Brandon Smith will make his long-awaited South Sydney club debut as the Rabbitohs cop another blow in a season of injury misfortune. Smith's NRL return comes against Manly some 308 days after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in what turned out to be his last game for the Sydney Roosters. When Smith joined Souths in May, coach Wayne Bennett flagged low expectations of the forward hitting top form on his return from injury this year. But Bennett confirmed on Saturday the 2020 premiership winner will come on from the bench at Brookvale Oval following a leg injury to Euan Aitken. "(Smith) is pretty excited about it all, he's trained pretty well. Everything is right for him to go," Bennett said. Souths are still determining Aitken's return-to-play timeline as the centre becomes the latest Rabbitoh to be struck down by injury in a difficult 2025 season. Latrell Mitchell, Alex Johnston, Cam Murray, Jamie Humphreys, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are among key men to have spent time out of the side this year. The latest injury comes just as 16th-placed Souths appeared to be approaching full strength and could open up a spot for beleaguered Lewis Dodd to return to the halves. Signed before Bennett's coaching return was confirmed, the Englishman has been given only one chance to start in the halves at struggling Souths - at Magic Round amid a slew of injuries. But Bennett may now have little option other than to shift Jack Wighton from five-eighth to Aitken's centre spot and promote Dodd from his bench. Bennett was reluctant to detail Dodd's path into favour at the Rabbitohs as speculation mounts he could be forced out of the club. "He knows and I know so we'll leave it at that. I don't really want to make it public. It's nothing to do with anybody else," the coach said. Anthony Seibold insists Tom Trbojevic is happy staying at centre for a consecutive week after a controversial shift from fullback for Manly's win over Wests Tigers. "He actually said he enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity. He's had a good week's preparation," the Manly coach said. "He's the current Kangaroos centre, he's played for the Blues at centre so he's an elite centre as well as an elite fullback."
The Age
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The mystery rich-lister on stand-by to fly Matt Burton in for Origin duty
Matt Burton has been NSW 18th man twice as many times as he's taken the field for his state, but there's no questioning his commitment to the unwanted role. Not when the Bulldogs star was around for boots, mouthguard and a private plane owned by a 'good mate' worth a lazy $800 million just in case the Blues needed him for emergency duties once again. Burton's bye week leading into Origin I was interrupted by clubmate Stephen Crichton's game one injury scare, when the Canterbury skipper was in doubt right up until game day. Burton, who has taken the field twice for NSW since 2022 and been 18th man five times, was in his home town of Dubbo when the call came from Blues management. If Crichton wasn't fit, South Sydney's Campbell Graham would be called in to debut. And if he could get to Brisbane, Burton would be 18th man with the chance to play if any further late dramas struck or a HIA was caused by foul play. So he called Wes Maas – the Dubbo-raised one-time Rabbitoh, founder and majority owner of the Maas Group. After two games with Souths in 2002, Maas took a $14,000 bank loan, a bobcat and a tip truck and started a $1.5 billion construction materials and equipment company – which has since seen the 45-year-old's estimated worth pegged at $814 million last year. 'There wasn't going to be a flight straight from Dubbo to Brisbane, they'd been booked up, and obviously you want to give Critta as much time as possible to be right,' Burton said after joining NSW camp, again as 18th man, for game two in Perth.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The mystery rich-lister on stand-by to fly Matt Burton in for Origin duty
Matt Burton has been NSW 18th man twice as many times as he's taken the field for his state, but there's no questioning his commitment to the unwanted role. Not when the Bulldogs star was around for boots, mouthguard and a private plane owned by a 'good mate' worth a lazy $800 million just in case the Blues needed him for emergency duties once again. Burton's bye week leading into Origin I was interrupted by clubmate Stephen Crichton's game one injury scare, when the Canterbury skipper was in doubt right up until game day. Burton, who has taken the field twice for NSW since 2022 and been 18th man five times, was in his home town of Dubbo when the call came from Blues management. If Crichton wasn't fit, South Sydney's Campbell Graham would be called in to debut. And if he could get to Brisbane, Burton would be 18th man with the chance to play if any further late dramas struck or a HIA was caused by foul play. So he called Wes Maas – the Dubbo-raised one-time Rabbitoh, founder and majority owner of the Maas Group. After two games with Souths in 2002, Maas took a $14,000 bank loan, a bobcat and a tip truck and started a $1.5 billion construction materials and equipment company – which has since seen the 45-year-old's estimated worth pegged at $814 million last year. 'There wasn't going to be a flight straight from Dubbo to Brisbane, they'd been booked up, and obviously you want to give Critta as much time as possible to be right,' Burton said after joining NSW camp, again as 18th man, for game two in Perth.
