Latest news with #Souths'
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Bennett won't guarantee Dodd will see out Souths deal
Wayne Bennett will not guarantee Lewis Dodd remains at South Sydney for the remainder of his three-year deal, even as the beleaguered Englishman retains a spot in the halves. Dodd will partner halfback Jamie Humphreys as last-placed Souths face Brisbane on Friday, with five-eighth Jack Wighton dropping out after receiving a four-game ban for a shoulder charge. The 23-year-old was brought over from England on big money to become the Rabbitohs' halfback this year, but has started only twice before despite Souths' season of injury carnage. Bennett signed his own Souths deal after Dodd's was confirmed, and the coach has preferred Wighton, Humphreys, Cody Walker, Jayden Sullivan, Latrell Mitchell and Jye Gray as starting halves options throughout the season. Asked if Dodd would see out his deal, reportedly worth $2 million across three seasons, Bennett was unsure. "That's a good question. I can't answer that for you right now," he said. "Lewis has got an opportunity tomorrow night to play again and show us what he can do and what he can't do. Let's wait and see how that goes." Dodd had a solid game playing halfback in last week's tight loss to top-eight side Cronulla, notably making a try-saving tackle on Nicho Hynes as Souths defended their goal-line. Bennett intimated the next few weeks would be telling. "We'll all have a better opinion each time (Dodd) plays, we'll see where it finishes in the next four or five weeks," he said. "He's got an opportunity to play, and he hasn't had that all year. He started last week and he's starting again this week. We'll all be smarter in a couple of weeks' time." Bennett was frustrated to lose Wighton after he failed to have his grade-two charge overturned at the judiciary on Tuesday night. Souths' legal counsel had insisted Sharks prop Toby Rudolf suffered a concussion because of a head clash with Wighton, rather than from illegal shoulder contact. "In my mind it still isn't a shoulder charge," Bennett said. "I've been in football as long as probably anyone at the moment that's in the game. It was never a shoulder charge." Wighton's absence is another blow to Souths' hopes of avoiding the first wooden spoon in Bennett's premiership career, though the coach did claim the award during his tenure in the Brisbane Rugby League before that. Bennett was unfazed by the prospects of claiming the prize, and similarly unperturbed that a loss to the Broncos would mean his first nine-game losing streak in 38 seasons. "What's worrying going to do? It's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do and takes you nowhere," he quipped. "We need to remain stable and not listen to all the noise that's outside the club, and we're doing that really well. I've got a group of men here doing their best, and I can't ask for more than that from them." Wayne Bennett will not guarantee Lewis Dodd remains at South Sydney for the remainder of his three-year deal, even as the beleaguered Englishman retains a spot in the halves. Dodd will partner halfback Jamie Humphreys as last-placed Souths face Brisbane on Friday, with five-eighth Jack Wighton dropping out after receiving a four-game ban for a shoulder charge. The 23-year-old was brought over from England on big money to become the Rabbitohs' halfback this year, but has started only twice before despite Souths' season of injury carnage. Bennett signed his own Souths deal after Dodd's was confirmed, and the coach has preferred Wighton, Humphreys, Cody Walker, Jayden Sullivan, Latrell Mitchell and Jye Gray as starting halves options throughout the season. Asked if Dodd would see out his deal, reportedly worth $2 million across three seasons, Bennett was unsure. "That's a good question. I can't answer that for you right now," he said. "Lewis has got an opportunity tomorrow night to play again and show us what he can do and what he can't do. Let's wait and see how that goes." Dodd had a solid game playing halfback in last week's tight loss to top-eight side Cronulla, notably making a try-saving tackle on Nicho Hynes as Souths defended their goal-line. Bennett intimated the next few weeks would be telling. "We'll all have a better opinion each time (Dodd) plays, we'll see where it finishes in the next four or five weeks," he said. "He's got an opportunity to play, and he hasn't had that all year. He started last week and he's starting again this week. We'll all be smarter in a couple of weeks' time." Bennett was frustrated to lose Wighton after he failed to have his grade-two charge overturned at the judiciary on Tuesday night. Souths' legal counsel had insisted Sharks prop Toby Rudolf suffered a concussion because of a head clash with Wighton, rather than from illegal shoulder contact. "In my mind it still isn't a shoulder charge," Bennett said. "I've been in football as long as probably anyone at the moment that's in the game. It was never a shoulder charge." Wighton's absence is another blow to Souths' hopes of avoiding the first wooden spoon in Bennett's premiership career, though the coach did claim the award during his tenure in the Brisbane Rugby League before that. Bennett was unfazed by the prospects of claiming the prize, and similarly unperturbed that a loss to the Broncos would mean his first nine-game losing streak in 38 seasons. "What's worrying going to do? It's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do and takes you nowhere," he quipped. "We need to remain stable and not listen to all the noise that's outside the club, and we're doing that really well. I've got a group of men here doing their best, and I can't ask for more than that from them." Wayne Bennett will not guarantee Lewis Dodd remains at South Sydney for the remainder of his three-year deal, even as the beleaguered Englishman retains a spot in the halves. Dodd will partner halfback Jamie Humphreys as last-placed Souths face Brisbane on Friday, with five-eighth Jack Wighton dropping out after receiving a four-game ban for a shoulder charge. The 23-year-old was brought over from England on big money to become the Rabbitohs' halfback this year, but has started only twice before despite Souths' season of injury carnage. Bennett signed his own Souths deal after Dodd's was confirmed, and the coach has preferred Wighton, Humphreys, Cody Walker, Jayden Sullivan, Latrell Mitchell and Jye Gray as starting halves options throughout the season. Asked if Dodd would see out his deal, reportedly worth $2 million across three seasons, Bennett was unsure. "That's a good question. I can't answer that for you right now," he said. "Lewis has got an opportunity tomorrow night to play again and show us what he can do and what he can't do. Let's wait and see how that goes." Dodd had a solid game playing halfback in last week's tight loss to top-eight side Cronulla, notably making a try-saving tackle on Nicho Hynes as Souths defended their goal-line. Bennett intimated the next few weeks would be telling. "We'll all have a better opinion each time (Dodd) plays, we'll see where it finishes in the next four or five weeks," he said. "He's got an opportunity to play, and he hasn't had that all year. He started last week and he's starting again this week. We'll all be smarter in a couple of weeks' time." Bennett was frustrated to lose Wighton after he failed to have his grade-two charge overturned at the judiciary on Tuesday night. Souths' legal counsel had insisted Sharks prop Toby Rudolf suffered a concussion because of a head clash with Wighton, rather than from illegal shoulder contact. "In my mind it still isn't a shoulder charge," Bennett said. "I've been in football as long as probably anyone at the moment that's in the game. It was never a shoulder charge." Wighton's absence is another blow to Souths' hopes of avoiding the first wooden spoon in Bennett's premiership career, though the coach did claim the award during his tenure in the Brisbane Rugby League before that. Bennett was unfazed by the prospects of claiming the prize, and similarly unperturbed that a loss to the Broncos would mean his first nine-game losing streak in 38 seasons. "What's worrying going to do? It's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do and takes you nowhere," he quipped. "We need to remain stable and not listen to all the noise that's outside the club, and we're doing that really well. I've got a group of men here doing their best, and I can't ask for more than that from them."
7NEWS
4 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
South Sydney star Jack Wighton cops three-game ban for divisive shoulder charge on Toby Rudolf
Jack Wighton has received a three-game ban for his divisive shoulder charge on Toby Rudolf in a blow to depleted South Sydney's hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon. Video replays cast doubt as to whether Wighton made high contact with his shoulder or whether he'd simply clashed heads with the Cronulla prop in Souths' 14-12 loss on Saturday night. 'Contact is head on head but it's a shoulder charge with no attempt to wrap (your arms to make a tackle),' referee Belinda Sharpe told Wighton as she sin-binned him. Wighton has since been cited for a grade-two shoulder charge and will miss upcoming games against Brisbane, Gold Coast and Parramatta with an early guilty plea. The second two of those fixtures shape as pivotal for the Rabbitohs in their fight to avoid the first wooden spoon of Wayne Bennett's coaching career. Wighton would miss a fourth match against St George Illawarra if he unsuccessfully challenged his charge. The suspension compounds Souths' well-documented personnel crisis; a total of 13 first-graders missed Saturday night's gallant loss to the top-eight hopeful Sharks. Wighton joins Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Campbell Graham and Cameron Murray among other big names on the sidelines at last-placed Souths. Jamie Humphreys looms as the likeliest man to join Lewis Dodd in the halves next week provided he shakes off concussion symptoms. Rudolf went from the field for a head injury assessment and was deemed unable to return so will miss Cronulla's next match against North Queensland. Wighton and Bennett were both tight-lipped on the shot after Saturday's game but Souths found an unlikely ally in rival coach Craig Fitzgibbon. 'I don't really have an issue,' said the Sharks coach. 'He was just trying to shift energy for his team. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.' Fitzgibbon noted Cronulla had 'been on the wrong end' of similar calls in the past. Now retired, Sharks forward Dale Finucane received a two-game ban for a similar shot on Stephen Crichton in 2022. Finucane avoided the sin bin on that occasion and took his case to the NRL judiciary to plead that he had only clashed heads with the then-Penrith centre. But the forward's guilty verdict was upheld on appeal. Elsewhere, Gold Coast rookie Sean Mullany has been offered a one-game ban for his hip-drop tackle on Demetric Vaimauga from the final minutes of the Titans' shock win over the Warriors.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alex Johnston is about to become rugby league's Don Bradman
Irvine had his own superpower: he sprinted professionally and ran 100-metre times that could have made him an Olympic Games finalist. The Bears signed him up for life when he was 17 – but of course, a life sentence at North Sydney often meant a parole period at Manly. Amazingly, Irvine would be selected in the notional all-time teams for both of his clubs, and in 2008 he was an easy pick on the wing for the Australian Rugby League's centenary dream team. Old records are usually broken by a statistical advantage of later eras: modern players often get more chances and more games to pile up whatever stats they need. But Johnston's try-scoring rate is almost identical to Irvine's. This is the most astonishing of all his statistics. Irvine played 236 first-grade games, and Johnston has played 237. In game No.234, he crossed the line four times against Melbourne. Souths, inevitably in this season when Johnston has played outside fill-ins and makeshifts, lost the game. The one advantage Johnston has had over Irvine is the NRL's sensible rule change, back in 2010, to make the corner post inside rather than outside the field of play. It has enabled wingers to score tries that would have been disallowed before 2010. Similar to Irvine, on the other hand, Johnston's career winning rate is 57 per cent, well below those of Slater, Lamb and Menzies. He started out in Souths' feeder team in 2013 – which was, appropriately, North Sydney. His debut first-grade season was Souths' 2014 premiership-winning campaign, but he hasn't spent his career sitting pretty outside Greg Inglis. Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have done their bit, but Johnston manages to get the ball in space in even the weakest Bunnies teams. The Sydney Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, raised a few eyebrows this week when he kept going on about 'Roosters footy' – whatever that is, some kind of 'brand' – but there's no jargon or kidology about what 'Rabbitohs footy' is: just get the ball out to the left wing. This week, Johnston has signed a two-year extension with Souths, meaning that in all likelihood he will turn an 'Irvine' into a 'Johnston'. He's still only 30 years old. In our lifetimes, it's impossible to imagine anyone reaching the mid-200s he is sure to retire with. Daniel Tupou, who on Friday moved into fourth place on the all-time list, is four years older than Johnston. The magnitude of Johnston's achievement is a thing of wonder. The question remains how rugby league will celebrate. They'll have to be ready with the balloons and streamers. Please don't let them spoil the moment with Sweet Caroline. This one is unique. Happily, Johnston has turned his left wing into a quiet space where the only enemies he has made in rugby league are the touch judges. His indigenous heritage means his record will offer a special inspiration beyond the rectangle of play. Johnston also has Lumi ancestry from Papua New Guinea, and if he's not still playing when the PNG team enters the NRL, he will be offered an ambassadorial role. Loading Which is to say, in the weekly reality show that the NRL can be, the Irvine becoming the Johnston will be one of those beautiful moments to just stop, stand, and applaud. Here is someone who has truly let his footy do the talking. The day it happens, whoever is at the ground should be allowed to leap the fences, charge on and mob him in the way that Lockett was back in 1999 and Lance Franklin was when he went past 1000 goals in 2022. The field invasion is a thing of the past, and security guards tackle better, some days, than Souths' current middle forwards. But the joy of this record should be allowed to overflow. It won't happen again while any of us are alive.
The Age
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Alex Johnston is about to become rugby league's Don Bradman
Irvine had his own superpower: he sprinted professionally and ran 100-metre times that could have made him an Olympic Games finalist. The Bears signed him up for life when he was 17 – but of course, a life sentence at North Sydney often meant a parole period at Manly. Amazingly, Irvine would be selected in the notional all-time teams for both of his clubs, and in 2008 he was an easy pick on the wing for the Australian Rugby League's centenary dream team. Old records are usually broken by a statistical advantage of later eras: modern players often get more chances and more games to pile up whatever stats they need. But Johnston's try-scoring rate is almost identical to Irvine's. This is the most astonishing of all his statistics. Irvine played 236 first-grade games, and Johnston has played 237. In game No.234, he crossed the line four times against Melbourne. Souths, inevitably in this season when Johnston has played outside fill-ins and makeshifts, lost the game. The one advantage Johnston has had over Irvine is the NRL's sensible rule change, back in 2010, to make the corner post inside rather than outside the field of play. It has enabled wingers to score tries that would have been disallowed before 2010. Similar to Irvine, on the other hand, Johnston's career winning rate is 57 per cent, well below those of Slater, Lamb and Menzies. He started out in Souths' feeder team in 2013 – which was, appropriately, North Sydney. His debut first-grade season was Souths' 2014 premiership-winning campaign, but he hasn't spent his career sitting pretty outside Greg Inglis. Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have done their bit, but Johnston manages to get the ball in space in even the weakest Bunnies teams. The Sydney Roosters coach, Trent Robinson, raised a few eyebrows this week when he kept going on about 'Roosters footy' – whatever that is, some kind of 'brand' – but there's no jargon or kidology about what 'Rabbitohs footy' is: just get the ball out to the left wing. This week, Johnston has signed a two-year extension with Souths, meaning that in all likelihood he will turn an 'Irvine' into a 'Johnston'. He's still only 30 years old. In our lifetimes, it's impossible to imagine anyone reaching the mid-200s he is sure to retire with. Daniel Tupou, who on Friday moved into fourth place on the all-time list, is four years older than Johnston. The magnitude of Johnston's achievement is a thing of wonder. The question remains how rugby league will celebrate. They'll have to be ready with the balloons and streamers. Please don't let them spoil the moment with Sweet Caroline. This one is unique. Happily, Johnston has turned his left wing into a quiet space where the only enemies he has made in rugby league are the touch judges. His indigenous heritage means his record will offer a special inspiration beyond the rectangle of play. Johnston also has Lumi ancestry from Papua New Guinea, and if he's not still playing when the PNG team enters the NRL, he will be offered an ambassadorial role. Loading Which is to say, in the weekly reality show that the NRL can be, the Irvine becoming the Johnston will be one of those beautiful moments to just stop, stand, and applaud. Here is someone who has truly let his footy do the talking. The day it happens, whoever is at the ground should be allowed to leap the fences, charge on and mob him in the way that Lockett was back in 1999 and Lance Franklin was when he went past 1000 goals in 2022. The field invasion is a thing of the past, and security guards tackle better, some days, than Souths' current middle forwards. But the joy of this record should be allowed to overflow. It won't happen again while any of us are alive.
Sydney Morning Herald
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Turbo-charged Manly leave Souths pondering sixth straight defeat
Ten minutes later, stand-in Souths fullback Alex Johnston fumbled a Daly Cherry-Evans bomb, and Manly regained possession. After a quick play-the-ball, Cherry-Evans passed to Tom Trbojevic, who dived over from close range. The Sea Eagles rammed home their advantage in the 31st minute when Garrick made it a double after cutting back inside and exposing the Rabbitohs' right-edge defence. The Rabbitohs' only real scoring opportunity in the first half came in the 35th minute, when winger Tyrone Mundine touched down after a Jamie Humphreys bomb, only for the bunker to detect a Campbell Graham knock-on as he flew high to contest the kick. Manly extended their lead two minutes after the resumption when Trbojevic skirted across field and zoomed through a gap to score his second try of the game, and only his third of the season. They surged further ahead in the 52nd minute when Cherry-Evans backed up a Jason Saab break to score, celebrating the try by pulling up a corner post and pretending to use it as a walking stick. New signing Brandon Smith started the game at hooker for Souths, his first appearance since undergoing a knee reconstruction at the Sydney Roosters last season. The Kiwi international opened with a 20-minute stint before he was interchanged. He returned to the fray for the final 20 minutes, this time playing at lock, and had a hand in Souths' first try, scored by back-rower Tallis Duncan. Duncan was in again three minutes later, making it back-to-back braces, after he also scored a double in the 50-28 loss to the Dolphins in Souths' previous game. Loading A 77th-minute try by Souths winger Isaiah Tass added a touch of respectability to the scoreline, but the winning margin would have been even larger except for a rare off day with the boot by Garrick, who landed only three of six conversion attempts. Centre Tolutau Koula, who was a constant threat to Souths' defence, was rewarded with a runaway try after a fumble in the 78th minute. Smith limped from the field five minutes from full-time after his left leg was trapped underneath Manly prop Matt Lodge in an awkward tackle. It was his right knee that required reconstructive surgery last year.
