Lewis Dodd made the move from the English Super League, playing for the St Helens Saints, to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the start of 2025, but his season didn't go exactly as planned.
Speaking on The Nova Sport Podcast, Dodd acknowledged he expected to play a bigger role after making the move to Australia.
“I didn't play as much as I was hoping to or wanted to,” Dodd said.
The English halfback spoke about how he expected to be playing regularly when he signed with the Rabbitohs, despite knowing that the NRL structure would be different to the Super League.
“I thought I was going to be playing when I signed; I knew it was obviously not going to be the same in Super League, where you have your two main halves and then a backup," he revealed.
Dodd reflected on his time at South Sydney and where he believed it started to go wrong; the halfback opened up about his first game, the Charity Shield, with the Rabbitohs.
“They do the Charity Shield, and I had a shocker; I was awful," he said.
“I just knew as soon as the game finished, three or four cameras around me; to be fair to Latrell (Mitchell), he stood in the way of the cameras and told them to move away.”
Dodd knew his capabilities at playing at the NRL level but couldn't understand why the football he was producing fell short of his expectations.
“I knew I could play at this level, but I just wasn't showing it," he said.
“I rang my Dad and said, Dad, I'm struggling here, mentally and physically; I'm miles off where I know I can play.”
“I wasn't angry towards anyone else; it was more myself. It was like, why am I not getting it?
“I'm missing stuff I normally see; I'm not taking stuff on I normally take; I thought something's not right here.
“It was up here (mentally), physically; something's not right."
The halfback also spoke about receiving a suspension during the Charity Shield match that ruled him out of the Rabbitohs ' season opener against the Redcliffe Dolphins.
South Sydney won that match, and Dodd's absence, ultimately alongside the Charity Shield, was the beginning of his difficult time in the NRL.
“I ended up getting a suspension somehow in the Charity Shield, and then I missed the first game against the Dolphins, and then we beat the Dolphins and it sort of just snowballed from there really.”
“It got to the mid-year, and I sort of knew I wasn't playing regardless.”
Dodd went on to play in the NSW Cup for the Rabbitohs, playing 12 games. However, the Englishman admitted his struggles throughout those games, pointing to his consistency as a main factor.
“One game I was playing well; the next game was a bit of a struggle.”
The halfback also spoke about how influential South Sydney's head coach, Wayne Bennett, was on him.
“The stuff he taught me and us as a group I still use now," Dodd said of the coach.
Dodd highlighted the conversation Bennett had with him regarding his future at the Rabbitohs.
According to Dodd, Bennett said: “I just don't see you as my halfback in this team.”
Although many players may have held a grudge against a coach for making that decision, Dodd refused to blame the coach.
“I can't be angry at someone who's made a decision; yes, it's not in my favor, but I can't be angry at them," he said.
“Did I do everything possible to give myself the best possible chance to play and play well? Probably not; probably wasn't there mentally to do that, wasn't there mentally to cope with it."
Throughout the second half of his season, he spoke about the importance of the work he did with South Sydney's Wellbeing Officer, Ian Reeves. Dodd emphasised how the sessions were largely focused on accountability and moving forward.
“I was working out how to take accountability and actually accept it and how to move forward with it.”
Lewis Dodd also reflected on his time with Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell and how he was helpful during his difficult introduction into the NRL.
After experiencing media scrutiny, Dodd described a message Mitchell had sent to him.
“I was flicking through the channels on TV, on the news things, and that was the first time that ever happened to me, and then I remember Trell messaged me like I'm getting a bit of a taste of it now," he said of Mitchell.
“He's completely misunderstood; he's such a nice guy, like a great partner, a great dad, great friend, great teammate.
“For someone as famous in Australia as him, he was unbelievable with me.”
When asked whether he had any regrets about signing with South Sydney or not extending with St Helens, Dodd had a simple answer.
“No for both of them…I did a lot of work for myself and can't regret anything," he said.
