St Helens legend James Graham has spoken about the chances of Lewis Dodd leaving the NRL just one year into three-year deal, arguing that Super League clubs have an ‘advantage’ if they wish to sign him.
Dodd headed out to the NRL ahead of this season, signing with South Sydney Rabbitohs on a three-year deal worth a reported $650,000 per season.
That figure has been subject to plenty of talk given the fact Dodd has failed to gain a real opportunity, playing just four times so far with his first actual start in the number seven position coming yesterday (Saturday).
Souths lost 14-12 to Cronulla but failed to create any real opportunities and whilst Wayne Bennett assessed the Englishman’s performance as having ‘not let anyone down’, the wages he’s on demand more than that and that’s seen the debate around his future rage once again.
NRL journalist James Hooper spoke with former Saints man James Graham on Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin radio show to explain Souths’ poor season, however, he refused to point to Dodd as a scapegoat as many have done.
Could Lewis Dodd leave the NRL after one year?
Souths, who sit at the foot of the NRL table, have struggled with injuries and Hooper referenced that, explaining: “You look at the fact they’ve got $6 million worth of talent sidelined and then you’ve also got to look at their recruitment.
“Lewis Dodd, who we saw get an opportunity last night, and I felt for Lewis Dodd because it’s not his fault that the club made a decision to go to England, target him and pay him big money and essentially make him their marquee signing for this season.”
On that, he continued: “It’s been a spectacular flop and last night, he ultimately ended up getting hooked with ten minutes to go in a tight game.
“I thought his kicking game was okay. I know he doesn’t threaten the line a lot and he didn’t do any damage with the ball but I thought his kicking game was competent.”
James Graham, who has previously said that the ‘writing is on the wall’ for Dodd at Souths, would then move to explain why Dodd’s move hasn’t succeeded, blaming the ‘power brokers’ at Souths for how they handled the situation.
“With Lewis Dodd, I believe he can excel here in the NRL but it doesn’t appear that’s going to happen at South Sydney,” Graham explained.
“Questions need to be asked because he was signed just towards the back end of Jason Demetriou’s tenure at South Sydney. The power brokers at Souths would have known that was coming to an end so one thing you don’t do is go and sign the person that plays the most important position if you’re bringing in a new coach. I don’t understand that process.
“The processes need to be examined because someone at Souths has gone out and signed Lewis Dodd and then appointed Wayne Bennett as coach. That’s not the order of proceedings. It should have been ‘Let’s sort out the coach and then see who he wants to or doesn’t want to bring in’, especially such a gamble on a half coming from England.”
At that point, Ben Dobbin would state his belief that Dodd will not be at Souths ‘next year’, and Graham explained how Super League clubs could come into play despite the fact the half is on an astronomical wage.
Graham explained: “He’s legally entitled to that wage so if he heads back to Super League and the money isn’t matched then Souths do have to top it up.
“That’s an advantage for any club in Super League, if they sign him on a two-year deal then they can pay him next to nothing and Souths have to top up the rest of it.”
A wage of $650,000 is equivalent to around £320,000, however, Dodd would count as just £150,000 on the salary cap if registered as a marquee player and Souths would be paying a large portion of the £320,000 anyway. As such, a number of half-back-needy teams could take a look at the former St Helens man.
