Former St Helens man Lewis Dodd will finally make his starting NRL debut this weekend during the competition’s Magic Round.
The Englishman has had to wait until Round Nine to gain a start in the competition despite a number of opportunities presenting themselves earlier.
It looked like Lewis Dodd would start the season for South Sydney Rabbitohs due to injuries but he copped a ban and has since had to bide his time, playing in the New South Wales Cup and making two appearances off the interchange bench.
His official NRL debut saw him play the final 20 minutes in front of 65,000 when Canterbury Bulldogs hammered the Bunnies 32-0 with the former St Helens man brought on at 26-0 down.
It looked certain that he’d start this week with Cody Walker and Jamie Humphreys out and Latrell Mitchell suspended, however, Wayne Bennett originally selected Jack Wighton to play in the halves sparking fears over when Lewis Dodd would ever get his first start.
“Long time coming” – Lewis Dodd earns NRL starting debut
However, an injury to Wighton means that Lewis Dodd has been called up from the reserves and will start alongside Jayden Sullivan in the halves with the Englishman set to play stand-off.
Souths face Newcastle Knights on Saturday morning in the first of the game’s days at Suncorp Stadium with the NRL running their Magic Round at the same time Super League runs Magic Weekend.
It means a 6:00 am start in the UK for the friends and family of Dodd if they want to watch his debut as he goes up against another Englishman in Kai Pearce-Paul.
“It’s been a long time coming, it feels like,” Dodd said upon learning of his debut per Wide World Of Sports.
“I didn’t think it was gonna be easy, I didn’t know if it was gonna go my own way but I wouldn’t have had it any other way – it will make me a better player and better person.
“At the end of the day, that’s all I can ask for.”
The former St Helens man now gets his chance to show what he’s about and if he can help lead the Bunnies to an underdog victory, then perhaps it will be the first start of many.
