Lewis Dodd has been the most talked about NRL recruit this year, finally he gets a start at halfback
Finally, after a five month wait Lewis Dodd will get a chance to silence his critics. He arrived in Australia on a rich contract but has not yet been given a crack. Find out how the deal was done.
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Finally on Saturday night the rugby league world might have an understanding regarding one of the hottest topics this year. Is Lewis Dodd an NRL player? After a five month wait Dodd will get the chance to wear the No.7 jersey for South Sydney for the first time.
As has generally been the case South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett summed it up best on Friday.
“We are all going to be a lot smarter after tomorrow night,” Bennett said of Dodd. “Why don’t we wait until tomorrow night and we will answer some questions then.”
About the same time Lachie Ilias severely injured his leg, Lewis Dodd was on the other side of the world making a crucial decision surrounding his future.
Internally the Rabbitohs were already wondering if they had to look for a halfback alternative before Ilias suffered the badly broken leg in a NSW Cup fixture.
Ilias had been earmarked as Adam Reynolds’ long-term replacement and originally shone at halfback. However doubts started to emerge after he was axed to reserve grade last year before injury struck.
When Ilias was injured in April last year South Sydney knew they had to hit the open market. With little available in the NRL, they turned their attention to the Super League.
They had Ilias and Dean Hawkins on their books but had decided neither were going to be long-term first graders while Cody Walker was nearing the end of his career.
The Rabbitohs have earmarked rising star Matthew Humphries as a long-term halves option but felt they needed to move on a potential starter now. Dodd came up on their radar.
Dodd had told St Helens early in April that he would use the NRL get-out option he had in his contract to exit the club at the end of the year. St Helens were filthy.
They fired letters of complaints to South Sydney officials and had several heated conversations with the Rabbitohs as they tried to keep Dodd at the club with a rich offer. But Dodd had made his mind up. He knew he wanted to play in Australia but was not yet sure at which club.
The English halfback told this masthead at dinner last December that South Sydney were his No.1 option when he came up with a wishlist of NRL clubs he wanted to join.
The Rabbitohs were alerted to his availability by Dodd’s Australian-based agent Peter Menicou in the middle of April and within two weeks the deal was signed.
Menicou, South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly and South Sydney recruitment boss Mark Ellison met for lunch at Barangaroo to kickstart talks after Ellison had watched vision of Dodd.
Other NRL clubs including the Dolphins and Penrith had expressed an interest but in-depth discussions never eventuated given how keen the Rabbitohs were to secure the premiership winner.
The Dolphins were keen given Dodd’s connection with coach Kristian Woolf after Dodd thrived under Woolf at St Helens. But the Dolphins never stood a chance. South Sydney officials did a Zoom with Dodd before flying Ellison to England to meet with him face-to-face.
Ellison had already been armed with a three-year deal worth about $2 million but wanted to sit down with Dodd and his family in the UK before formally signing off.
By the time he stepped back on the plane to Australia the deal was done.
In the background South Sydney were undergoing significant change.
There are differing suggestions regarding who knew what and when they knew it regarding Dodd’s arrival. Dodd never spoke with then South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou or incoming coach Wayne Bennett before putting pen to paper.
JD AND BENNETT
At the same time the Rabbitohs were circling Dodd, Addin Fonua-Blake was in the process of exploring his options as he looked to return to Sydney.
It is understood Demetriou was aware that the club needed to strengthen its middles and he was keen to sign Fonua-Blake.
The New Zealand international was believed to be open to joining the Rabbitohs, but Souths were already moving in another direction.
They had Dodd in their sights. This masthead understands that Demetriou only became aware of the club’s plans to sign Dodd in the final days of his tenure.
The Rabbitohs parted ways with Demetriou on April 30 last year and confirmed Bennett’s return three weeks later on May 21. News broke that Dodd had agreed to join South Sydney on April 27.
Just who knew what and when has been a source of mystery. Bennett has remained tight-lipped but the timeline confirms that talks with Dodd were well in train before the seven-time premiership winner confirmed his return to the club.
THE TRANSITION
The transition has been anything but smooth for Dodd. He spent the first few months without his long-term partner Emily who was finishing her law degree in England before she arrived in March.
His time on the field has been marred by a run of bad luck which has limited him to just one starting NRL performance heading into Saturday’s game.
Dodd injured his AC joint at training during the pre-season but opted to play on. He received an injection to play in the trials but the delay in the kick-off for their hitout against Mainly because of a paramedic booking error meant the painkiller had largely worn off by the time he took to the field. He also required several stitches to repair a badly cut hand he suffered in the Charity Shield against St George Illawarra.
This coupled with a Charity Shield suspension and the pre-season form of fellow new signing Jamie Humphreys left Dodd confined to reserve grade.
The path back to the NRL hasn’t been easy, his cause not helped by the plight of the Rabbitohs’ NSW Cup side, which is languishing in last place with only five wins to their name.
Despite the setbacks, Bennett has remained impressed by Dodd’s demeanour.
“He has been good since he has been here,” Bennett said. “He has trained well. Highly respectful of the other players. Nothing has changed this week for him.”
THE FORM
Dodd has featured in 12 games for a Rabbitohs’ NSW Cup side that has struggled. The club’s mounting injury toll has had a trickle-down effect on the entire organisation.
A slew of injuries to the clubs biggest names has meant that others have been called on to fill the void, leaving Dodd to largely carry the load.
It hasn’t been easy - the Rabbitohs have won only three games he has played. Dodd has had seven try assists, two line break assists and 11 forced drop outs over that time.
Intriguingly, while Dodd has honed his craft in NSW Cup, the man he replaced - Ilias - has been on a tear for the high-flying Dragons team in reserve grade.
The Rabbitohs coach has made it clear Dodd won’t be forced out of the club, but he has also adopted the view that he won’t reward the Englishman unless his form warrants it..
Dodd has made four previous appearances in the NRL but only one as a starting player - against Newcastle in round nine when Souths were on the end of a flogging.
In total, he has been restricted to 145 minutes in the NRL. Dodd has had to be patient but finally some questions might finally be answered.
Originally published as Lewis Dodd has been the most talked about NRL recruit this year, finally he gets a start at halfback
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