South Sydney Rabbitohs are willing to make up almost 40 per cent of Lewis Dodd’s wages in order to get him off their books.
That’s according to the Daily Telegraph, who claim Souths need to find Dodd a new club before they can push ahead with a move for Gold Coast Titans forward David Fifita.
It’s been a year to forget for Dodd, who made the move from St Helens to the NRL at the end of the 2024 season. The half-back earned the move to Australia on the back of some impressive form, but his signing was completed before Wayne Bennett was appointed as head coach of the Rabbitohs.
And, it seems Dodd hasn’t been able to force his way into Bennett’s plans moving forward. The half-back has made just six appearances for Souths, with three of those coming off the bench, and he is yet to taste victory in the NRL. Tellingly though he has made just one appearance in the number seven jersey.
His last outing came at the start of the month as Souths were thumped 60-14 by Brisbane Broncos and in the aftermath of that game, Dodd was informed the club would not stand in his way should he wish to move on.
However, a fresh report down under claims the Rabbitohs are willing to sweeten the deal for any club interested by chipping in to make up his $650,000 a year wages. Dodd still has two years left to run on his Souths deal but the Bunnies would be willing to make up his wages by $250,000 a season for the next two years.
That means any club looking at Lewis Dodd would only have to pay him $400,000 (£216,396) in order to get him on their books.
Of course, that is still considered a lot of money by Super League standards, but it might just be enough to get the attention of prospective outfits Down Under who would be willing to take a punt on the Englishman, who is obviously short of confidence and self belief.
