Dufty’s Dragons homecoming proves he’s still got his spark

South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback Matt Dufty returned to his former club in a bid to show the Redfern-based outfit he still has what it takes to compete in the NRL.

Dufty progressed through the St George Illawarra Dragons pathways before playing in the top grade for four years with the Red V club.

He was then moved to the Bulldogs in 2022, where he was quickly transferred to the Warrington Wolves in England a year later, where he has spent the past four seasons. 

An NRL lifeline from the Rabbitohs has given Dufty the chance to return to Australia, and he is taking his opportunities with both hands. 

He recorded a try, a try assist, two line break assists, and ran for 232 metres in his old stomping ground in the Charity Shield. 

Dufty is determined to get back to the NRL level and spoke with NRL.com about the goal of reaching the 100-game milestone. 

"When I left, I didn't think I'd come back," Dufty told NRL.com.

"I didn't think my first game back would be at WIN Stadium against the Dragons, so it's a full-circle moment. 

"I didn't know what my future looked like when I decided to come home. I've landed at the Rabbitohs, and you couldn't write about it to win my first game back against the Dragons. It's surreal, I've never won a Charity Shield before. 

"I'm on 94 NRL games, I'd love to get to 100, so that's the goal. They've got Jye Gray playing there and he's electric. I've been watching him train the last few weeks and he's a pretty special player."

Dufty revealed that a phone call with former Dragon Ben Hornby about returning to Australia led to conversations with Souths head coach Wayne Bennett about getting the livewire fullback a NSW Cup contract.

"I decided to come home and called Benny Hornby just to ask him for some advice. He spoke to Wayne and called me back the next day, said, 'give Wayne a call'. It just went from there, we signed the Cup deal just to come in and train," he said. 

"I just want to put my best foot forward. They've got a stacked squad, I just wanted an opportunity and I'm very grateful for it."

Dufty is expected to back up his Charity Shield performance this weekend when the Rabbitohs play the Sea Eagles in Mudgee, with both sides expected to take strong line-ups.