Lewis Dodd insists he ‘wouldn’t change’ the way his stint in the NRL worked out, and says the disappointment tasted Down Under last year is helping him to enjoy the game again at Catalans Dragons.
Half-back Dodd – who turned 24 in January – joined NRL outfit South Sydney Rabbitohs on a three-year deal ahead of the 2025 campaign.
The playmaker had helped St Helens to Super League titles in 2021 and 2022, and kicked the winning drop goal as they beat Penrith Panthers in the 2023 World Club Challenge.
But a disappointing 12 months Down Under followed his switch to the other side of the world, failing to ever nail down a spot in the Rabbitohs’ side and playing just six NRL games over the course of the year.
Come the end of last season, he was released from the remaining two years of his deal and allowed to return to Super League, linking up with French outfit Catalans.
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‘It didn’t got the way I wanted it to, but I’ve said numerous times now that I wouldn’t change it’
Widnes-born Dodd featured 12 times for Souths’ reserves in the New South Wales Cup last term in addition to those six NRL games.
He has made a great start to life back in Super League, and after scoring his first try for the Dragons in their win at Leigh Leopards on Friday night, was put in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Asked whether he got a fair crack at things in the NRL with the Bunnies, he said: “It obviously didn’t go to plan, and it didn’t got the way I wanted it to, but I’ve said numerous times now that I wouldn’t change it.
“The experiences and the lessons that I got, both on and off the field, are making me enjoy my rugby league now, so I wouldn’t change it.
“That level, not just in a game but every day in training and what you do away from the game, that was the biggest lesson I learned from it.
“Without a doubt, in a weird way, it probably gave me more confidence knowing that I can be at that level.
“To bring it back here and start enjoying my rugby league again, that was the main thing.”
Dodd only signed a one-year deal with Catalans for 2026 initially, but before the campaign had even started, that had been extended by 12 months, so he is now tied down in Perpignan until the end of 2027.
Providing he features, this weekend’s Challenge Cup tie against Championship side Oldham will see him make the 100th first-grade appearance of his career.
On the life he has forged in France, the playmaker explained: “It’s unbelievable and it’s not just me saying it (for the sake of saying it). The lifestyle, the people, what the club does for you… we’ve been very lucky.
“There’s a lot of new players and partners going to the South of France at the same time as me and my partner, so it’s a real family feel about the club, you’re together.
“If you’re in England and you’re an English lad, you’ve got your family five or ten minutes away and you’ve got outlets.
“But when you’re in the South of France, it’s just us players and it builds that real connection as a group. We’re travelling every other week and I’ve loved it on and off the field so far, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”