Waiting for halves chance made me a better man: Dodd
Jasper Bruce |
Lewis Dodd says he’s become a better person for his long wait to start a game in South Sydney’s halves.
After eight weeks biding his time, hotly-anticipated English recruit Dodd is poised to replace the injured Jack Wighton in the halves against Newcastle in the NRL’s Magic Round on Saturday.
Wighton was named at five-eighth on Tuesday but missed training with a calf injury on Wednesday and did not travel with the team to Brisbane the following day.
He is likely to miss the next month of action, joining a Souths casualty ward that includes fellow big names Cody Walker, Jamie Humphreys, Cam Murray and Alex Johnston.
Souths coach Wayne Bennett is set to finally call on Dodd after preferencing Humphreys, Walker, Jayden Sullivan, Latrell Mitchell, Wighton and even back-up fullback Jye Gray as starting halves across the opening two months.
Two suspensions also worked against Dodd, who was signed before the Rabbitohs lured Bennett back to the club for a second stint in charge.
But despite pre-season tips he would snare Souths’ No.7 jumper for round one, Dodd always expected he’d have to work hard and be patient for a chance to start.
“I didn’t think it was going to be easy, I didn’t think everything was going to go my own way,” said Dodd, who has played two games from the bench so far.
“I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s made me a better person and a better player at the end of the day and that’s all I can ask for.”
Dodd won the 2021 Super League grand final and 2023 World Club Challenge during a five-year stint at English powerhouse St Helens.
But the 23-year-old has nevertheless found challenges in adjusting to the NRL.
“The game’s obviously a bit different to back home in England, there’s a lot more high percentage plays and just the ins and outs of the NRL, the week-to-week grind of it,” he said.
“I know I had to work on some things in my game and learn this competition.
“That’ll make me a better player. It’s been a long time coming, it feels like, but (the waiting) will also be beneficial at the end of the day.”
After weeks being patient, Dodd was rapt to phone home to England and tell his loved ones the good news.
“It was a nice phone call just saying, ‘I might be starting’ and for it to be at Magic Round, that’ll be a pretty special memory that I’ll look back on some day,” he said with a smile.
Injuries to Murray, Walker and Wighton, as well as Mitchell’s suspension, have left Souths to name their fifth-choice captain for an intriguing clash against out-of-sorts Newcastle.
Jai Arrow, the last fit member of the leadership group, is poised to be appointed skipper as Souths fight to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I guess I’m the last one left out of the leadership group so someone’s got to hold the fort down. I’m happy to do that,” he said.
AAP
