Former St Helens man Lewis Dodd suffers NRL blow

Former St Helens man Lewis Dodd will miss the start of the NRL season with the English half banned in the final trial game.

Dodd made the big-money move to the NRL ahead of the 2025 season with the former St Helens star signing for South Sydney Rabbitohs, in a deal confirmed back in May.

The remainder of the 2024 season was a rollercoaster for Dodd who lost his place but regained it as Saints scraped into the play-offs before falling to Warrington Wolves.

He has spent the off-season Down Under trying to earn the starting shirt for Souths, however, those ambitions have been dealt a blow and will now be impossible as the English playmaker has copped a ban.

Dodd was handed a Grade 2 charge for a ‘careless high tackle’ in the final pre-season game against St George Illawarra this past weekend and now the former Saint has pled guilty to the charge.

A guilty plea means a one-match ban, whereas if he had contested and lost then he would be slapped with a two-match ban instead.

As a result of that guilty plea, he’s now ruled out of the Round One opener against the Dolphins with Souths facing somewhat of a halves crisis.

Starter Cody Walker is currently injured and in a race to be fit whilst Dodd is now banned meaning that former Super League target Jayden Sullivan and ex-Manly youngster Jamie Humphreys look set to be the starters.

Strong performances for either man could make it hard for Dodd to earn his way into the Round Two team with the former St Helens not shining in the pre-season so far.

Recently Cooper Cronk claimed that Dodd was “outshone” in the trial game against Manly sparking fears that the 23-year-old may not earn the starting shirt. That decision has now been taken from Wayne Bennett’s hands, at least for Round One, on account of Dodd’s ban.