What Lewis Dodd can bring to the South Sydney Rabbitohs

I’ve checked out the last four games Lewis Dodd played for St Helens in the Super League last season to get an idea of his game, what the Rabbitohs saw to sign him, and what he might be able to offer them in the 2025 NRL season.

• His kicking game

• Where he fits in the South Sydney Rabbitohs attack

• Searching down short sides

• What should we expect?

The writing seemed to be on the wall when Dodd signed a three-year deal with the South Sydney Rabbitohs. While Lachlan Ilias remained at the club, the expectation was still for Dodd to start Round 1 in the halves. With Ilias now down the line with the St George Illawarra Dragons, the 22-year-old Englishman appears to have a clear passage to an NRL debut.

It’s a big step up from the Super League to the NRL, particularly for a relatively unknown Englishman in a key playmaking position that always carries with it bloated expectations. Still, Dodd looks like he can contribute to a rebuilding Rabbitohs in 2025.

His kicking game

Dodd is a left-foot kicker and, alongside Jonny Lomax in the halves, took on a lot of the long-range kicking duties with St Helens.

He has a strong left boot out of yardage. While he spent a lot of time ball-playing in the middle of the field throughout a set, Dodd does a good job of organising the play to where he can kick off his left boot on the left side of the ruck by the last tackle.

Closer to the line, he’s able to hang up attacking kicks for his wingers or pin the opposition in the corner to start a yardage set. He doesn’t have a Matt Burton bomb but he has reasonable control over his high attacking kicks from just over halfway.

Cody Walker isn’t a noted kicker in the NRL. A bit like Ilias throughout his time in first grade, Dodd will be relied upon heavily to make his mark with his boot from day one.

Where he fits in the South Sydney Rabbitohs attack

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