Rabbitohs 26 Dragons 46
South Sydney lost the Charity Shield – and Englishman Lewis Dodd may have lost the chance to wear the No.7 to Jamie Humphreys in round one.
Three days after superstars Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray broke down at training with serious injuries, the Rabbitohs lost the Charity Shield to St George Illawarra 46-26.
And English halfback Dodd struggled to convince Wayne Bennett he deserves to wear the club’s No.7 jersey for the first-round clash against the Dolphins in a fortnight’s time.
In fact, Dodd might have headed home from Mudgee on the team bus thinking teammate Jamie Humphreys was about to leapfrog him in the halfback race.
Humphreys was injected into the action after half-time and set up a couple of tries and scored one himself.
The 23-year-old, who played one NRL game for Manly last year, said after the game: “I trained everywhere [during the pre-season] and looked to cover anywhere Wayne needs me to cover ... [I tried to be] the Mr Fix-It.
“I can cover the halves, hooker, anywhere – wherever he needs me.
“I came through playing in the halves, I debuted in the halves at Manly last year, and it’s definitely somewhere I feel comfortable. I’m really confident in my role there if I get the chance to play there.”
Souths were starved of possession to start the game, which meant Dodd was always going to find it difficult to get involved. One of the few times he did, a grubber kick was scooped up by Valentine Holmes and the Dragons scored a 90m try.
Dodd became the first player sin-binned for a high tackle that forced winger Sione Finau out of the game with concussion. The NRL is trialling a new rule during the Pre-Season Challenge where players can be binned once a rival fails a head injury assessment, which was the case when news came through about Finau after half-time. The former St Helens halfback did not return.
Jamie Humphreys splits the Dragons’ defence in Mudgee on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
The amount of defence Souths had to do meant they were going to struggle to beat the Dragons. They did well to get back into the game.
Mitchell is out for six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, while captain Murray is likely to sit out the season with a ruptured Achilles.
At least they have Jye Gray, one of Souths’ best, at fullback. And Jai Arrow (shoulder) and Cody Walker (calf) will be back for round one, Campbell Graham (hand) returns a few weeks after that, along with winger Alex Johnston (Achilles).
As for the Dragons, coach Shane Flanagan was always going to have his side and the new signings ready to hit the ground running.
Clint Gutherson and Holmes were excellent in the first half, and Lachie Ilias bagged a try against his old club. Ilias must have looked over at Dodd on the bench during the second half and for a split second wondered if there was any need for him to leave Souths in the first place.
The Dragons will not finish with the wooden spoon, despite being in the market with bookies before the trials started. Flanagan will do what he does best and squeeze everything out of his group of tradesmen.
Who starts on the wing will be a cool debate among the Red V faithful the next fortnight. Finau finished with four tries before his afternoon ended early, Mat Feagai scored on one of the few early occasions the ball was spread right, while Tyrell Sloan and Christian Tuipulotu are genuine proven options.
