Wayne Bennett admitted South Sydney’s big-money gamble on Lewis Dodd has backfired, with the English halfback now free to find a new club despite having two years left on his $650,000-a-season deal.
The Rabbitohs coach, speaking a week after casting doubt on Dodd’s future, said recruitment errors were inevitable, and this one would not be the last.
“We do make mistakes, we do get things wrong, but we get a lot of things right,” Bennett said. “We don’t get the praise when we get it right. When we get it wrong, someone like Braith comes out, cheap-shotting the decision made at the time … we move on, learn our lessons.”
Price tag, form – or something deeper?
Bennett stopped short of blaming the move solely on Dodd’s performances, instead delivering a blunt hint at a deeper issue.
“It might not even be his form, it might be his ability. You work it out,” he told reporters. “He’s in a tough place. The harshest thing that can happen to a player is to be told you’re not in first grade, when you think you should be a first-grader.”
Dodd, who joined from St Helens, will turn out for Souths’ NSW Cup side on Sunday while the NRL team faces Gold Coast in the so-called “Spoon Bowl”. Victory would help Bennett avoid the first wooden spoon of his 958-game career.
Latrell Mitchell (quadriceps) and Brandon Smith (knee) both return for the Titans clash, while Campbell Graham has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a back issue. Bennett joked he’d be “organising a lot of hospital beds” in the off-season after a year plagued by injuries.