Lewis Dodd has left St Helens to head to NRL in one of the biggest transfers in the sport this year.
Now, he has linked up with his new teammates at South Sydney Rabbitohs after completing his move to Australia.
He’ll be playing under new head coach Wayne Bennett, who has left The Dolphins and become their first permanent head coach since Jason Demetriou was sacked midway through the 2024 season.
It was a tough season for the Saints, and Dodd was in a struggling spine – but he’s now looking to get back to his best after even being dropped from the side for a period.
However, it’s unlikely that the Rabbitohs will be regretting the signing, as at just 22 years old, he’s one of the sport’s best prospects.
Fox Sports in Australia has named him as having the potential to be one of the biggest break-out stars in NRL next year, and it’s easy to see why.
Watch as ex-St Helens star Lewis Dodd gets rude NRL awakening from Wayne Bennett
Day 1 in the bank 🐰✅ #LewisDodd pic.twitter.com/sfv1zW204I
— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🐰 (@SSFCRABBITOHS) December 2, 2024
The pre-season grind starts now for the Englishman and Souths have released a video following their new half-back on his first day with the team.
In the video, you can see an early 6:30am start for the side, with Dodd being introduced to his new colleagues.
After bemoaning the heat, the Englishman is then approached by head coach Bennett who asks him who he is, prompting Bennett’s response of “Oh, you’re the Pommy aren’t you” which was met with laughter among the other players.
Wayne Bennett, who has managed England alongside a number of sides Down Under, including Brisbane Broncos for two decades, is a legendary figure in the game and was quick to spark a laugh on Dodd’s first day. However, he has previously claimed to have never watched the former St Helens man play.
He’ll get a good look during pre-season as the Rabbitohs look to improve after a lacklustre 2024, finishing second-to-last in the NRL ladder with injuries to key names such as Latrell Mitchell only making things worse in an already-disappointing campaign: especially with rivals Sydney Roosters reaching the Preliminary Final.
Now, with new names both on and off the field, they’ll be hoping that will only change.
Chris the Rabbit
December 4, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Haha. Wayne knows exactly who he is, and don’t believe half of the stuff that Bennett says to the media, such as having never seen Lewis Dodd play before. It’s all part of the Wayne Bennett mind-games and his own curious sense of humour. I hope Dodd proves to be an excellent signing for us – the last time we brought some guys over from England (the Burgess brothers) it worked out exceptionally well for us.