Latest news with #WayneBennett
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Wighton cops four-game ban in a huge blow for the Rabbitohs
Wayne Bennett's hopes of avoiding his first wooden spoon have taken a massive hit with veteran playmaker Jack Wighton slapped with a whopping four-match ban after he was found guilty of a grade two shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night. The Rabbitohs have lost eight in a row and head into round 22 in last spot behind the Knights and Titans on points differential, but their hopes of causing a gigantic boilover against the Broncos have copped a devastating blow with their five-eighth sidelined. He joins a host of stars who are missing for the club including Cam Murray, Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker. Wighton could have accepted a three-match ban for the grade two charge that saw him sent to the sin bin for a tackle that knocked out Cronulla's Toby Rudolf on Saturday night but rolled the dice after he pleaded not guilty. The panel of Greg McCallum and Bob Lindner listened to the 75-minute hearing and deliberated for just 15 minutes before they unanimously found him guilty. 'It was a fair hearing,' Wighton said afterwards. 'We came here thinking we had a good case. We didn't get the result we wanted. 'I'll turn my attention to preparing my teammates and really helping everyone at my club the best way I can.' It was a reunion of sorts between Wighton and judiciary counsel Patrick Knowles, with the five-eighth asking him 'how many games of rugby league have you played?' during a fiery hearing in 2023 when he was banned for three matches for biting. Wighton didn't give evidence on this occasion, a point not lost on Knowles who suggested he could have explained why there were no other options available to him to make a different type of tackle. However, judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew reminded the panel that Wighton had no obligation to justify. Knowles described the contact as a 'textbook example of a shoulder charge' and that he twisted his body, the right shoulder led the forceful contact and that his left arm raised in a bracing motion but didn't attempt to wrap. 'The amount of force generated in a tackle that used no arms carries a significant risk of injury,' he said. 'The shoulder was the first impact and carried the primary degree of force.' Prominent Sydney lawyer Nick Ghabar represented Wighton and argued it was 'quite wrong' to suggest he propped and drove with the shoulder and that he did his best to avoid a head on collision. Ghabar argued that the right arm wrapped around Rudolf's left arm before contact and that the Cronulla forward generated the force by leading with his head and arms. 'Rudolf stepped 'violently' off his left foot,' he said, arguing that it was inevitable that there'd be a more violent collision if Wighton hadn't dipped his body. 'Wighton drops his body height to avoid the risk of a head clash. He's got a split second decision to make. He's attempting to tackle with his left arm but his right arm doesn't have the ability to swing around the back of Rudolf.' The referee's report from Belinda Sharpe included a quote from Wighton that said 'I couldn't get my arm out', while the medical report said the injury was caused by a 'head clash from opponent'. Ghabar suggested that the first contact was shoulder on shoulder, but that played into the argument it was an actual shoulder charge. Knowles refuted a number of those arguments and pointed out Wighton's right fist was clenched so it couldn't have been a conventional wrapping tackle and that he could've twisted the other way and made a conventional left shoulder tackle. Ghabar sought a downgrade that would have seen Wighton miss two matches, but it was dismissed after Knowles argued the force was moderate, it was careless and the risk of injury was moderate and that the risk came to fruition. Wighton will miss matches against the Broncos, Titans, Eels and Dragons and will return in the final round against the Roosters, with Lewis Dodd likely to start in the halves.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Damning detail about Latrell as calls grow for 'investigation' into Souths crisis
Phil Rothfield has called for an 'investigation' into South Sydney's injury crisis, and a damning detail about Latrell Mitchell sums it up perfectly. The Rabbitohs have been absolutely decimated by injuries in 2025, and currently sit last on the NRL ladder with six rounds remaining in the regular season. Wayne Bennett is staring down the barrel of his first-ever wooden spoon, but there's not much he can do without so many of his star players. Captain Cameron Murray hasn't played all year after rupturing his Achilles in the pre-season, while superstars Mitchell, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham have spent large chunks of the year on the sideline. Mitchell recently tore his calf on the training paddock, which has become all-too common for the Rabbitohs. Questions have previously been raised about the club's new training facilities at Heffron Park, which has replaced Redfern Oval as the team's base. And speaking on Monday, veteran journalist Rothfield suggested it can't be a coincidence. Rothfield pointed out that a lot of the Rabbitohs' injuries have occurred at training - including Murray's and two for Mitchell this year. 'Souths need an investigation into their injuries, they really do," he said on Sky Sports radio. "Their sports science, their high-performance. A lot of them have happened at training. Whoever on Souths high performance staff four years ago advised their recruitment team that Adam Reynolds was a risk longer than a year has made a gigantic error in my view.' Rothfield highlighted a damning stat that Broncos veteran Reynolds has played 20 more games than Mitchell since departing the Rabbitohs for Brisbane. 'He has played 5,592 minutes since Souths said he was a year-by-year proposition," he added. The stats around the amount of matches that Mitchell has missed since moving to the Rabbitohs are galling for Souths fans. In four years at the Roosters he played 11 more games than he's done in six seasons at the Bunnies. Latrell Mitchell is expected to miss at least a month after suffering a significant quadriceps injury at Rabbitohs training today (via @MCarayannis).Likely moderate grade strain/partial tear with that recovery timeframe. Rabbitohs season from hell on the injury front continues. — NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 17, 2025 Calls for NRL to shorten regular season Rothfield suggested the NRL needs to consider changing the schedule to protect the game's top players. Mitchell is among a number of the game's elite players who feature at club, Origin and Test level every season. 'It is for the elite players, for the players who play finals every year. They play State of Origin, they play trial matches, they play the All-Stars game,' Rothfield said. 'They then have an international series. Then they got their six weeks off, then they get an interrupted pre-season. You've got to look at the welfare and you've got to look at injuries across the competition. Look at Souths. Latrell, Walker, Murray, Campbell Graham, Keaon Koloamatangi.' RELATED: Ricky Stuart's message to Newcastle after 'disrespectful' contract offer Stunning development for Cleary brothers as Luai under heavy fire South Sydney's 'laughable' injury toll Speaking last week, Souths veteran Jai Arrow described the injury toll as "laughable". In Round 22 against the Broncos they'll be without Mitchell, Walker, Murray, Koloamatangi, Brandon Smith, Tevita Tatola, Euan Aitken, Jayden Sullivan, Mikaele Ravalawa and Davvy Moale due to injuries, while Jack Wighton is banned for the next three games. "It's pretty crazy and pretty laughable with the amount of people we have missing at the moment," Arrow said. "But it is what it is, all you've got to do is keep turning up and enjoying each other's company and turn up for each other on the field. That's all we can do, really."
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘We'll lose the fans': Bennett's solution to Origin debate as UK recruit prepares for $2m acid test
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has weighed in on proposed changes to State of Origin eligibility while also calling for calm as English recruit Lewis Dodd prepares to make his first start at halfback after a rough first year in Australia. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer > Dodd was signed for three years on a lucrative deal but has played just four games off the bench this season despite the Rabbitohs going through a horror injury run in 2025. He'll finally start in the No.7 jersey against the Sharks with Jamie Humphreys in concussion protocols, with Bennett refusing to make any comments about Dodd's future before he sees how he performs. 'We're all going to be a lot smarter after tomorrow night, so let's wait until tomorrow night and answer some questions then,' he said, with suggestions the club could try to move him on at the end of the year. 'He's been good since he's been here. He's trained well, is well-mannered and has been highly respectful of the other players and his teammates. Nothing has changed for him. 'It could be a big month for him.' While Bennett didn't want to comment on Dodd's future, he was strong on Origin eligibility rules after it emerged that the Australian Rugby League Commission was considering making changes to stop players from having to choose between the Blues or Maroons and international sides England and New Zealand. As it stands, Origin stars like Stephen Crichton, Payne Haas and Jarome Luai can represent the Blues and then play for Samoa at the end of the year because of their tier 2 status. That loophole isn't available to guys like Victor Radley, who chose England over NSW, while there have been plenty of Kiwis who have been blocked from representing their state, while others have chosen to represent Tonga or Samoa so they can also play Origin. Bennett, who was in the mix to coach Australia in this year's Ashes series, has no issue with guys playing both formats but wants players to pick a country and stick with that choice for the rest of their careers. 'I don't believe they're going to play with the rules of Origin itself, and that's really important because the minute the fans realise it's not the genuine Queensland v NSW that it is, then we'll lose the fans,' Bennett warned. 'That's the great thing about it, the rivalry is real and it's not false, so we need to maintain that. 'The off side of that is players leaving that arena to then go and play for Tonga, Samoa, England, whatever. 'I'm happy for them to do that, but they can't do it as they're doing at the moment where you play for Tonga because they're second tier. If you play for England, it's first tier, so you can't swap nations. 'My point with it is that Origin eligibility won't change, and after that if you want to play for England and you qualify for England, then you do that. 'I'm happy for that because it makes the international game stronger, but I just don't want to see them playing for England and then coming back to play for Tonga because they're a second-tier nation. 'It's served its purpose and it's time to move on from that situation.' Fans would have loved to have seen Kiwis legend Benji Marshall play Origin, but he still wouldn't have been eligible even under the proposed changes given he moved to Australia after his 13th birthday. Regardless, he said he was never jealous given he's proud of his heritage. 'I always found it to be an Australian thing,' the Wests Tigers coach said. 'I just thought it was respectful to what it was that players from Australia played in that. 'We were always fans growing up in New Zealand. There was NSW and Queensland, but there was no wanting to play for them. I always wanted to play for New Zealand.'
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Rabbitohs' ‘$2 million mistake' exposes the NRL club's major recruitment issue
The Rabbitohs' signing of Lewis Dodd has been labelled a '$2 million mistake' as he prepares to start at halfback for the first time in the NRL. Dodd was named in the No. 7 jersey for South Sydney's clash with the Sharks on Saturday night. In his four previous NRL games this season, Dodd came off the bench in three games and started at five-eighth in the other. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Even with his hefty $650,000 salary, Dodd has been regularly overlooked for selection by coach Wayne Bennett, even amid an injury crisis at the club in 2025. NRL 360 co-host Dan Ginnane wondered whether Dodd had been signed by the Rabbitohs solely because he kicked the match-winning field goal for St Helens in the World Club Challenge back in 2023, when they prevailed 13-12 over Penrith. The 23-year-old Dodd is contracted with the Rabbitohs until the end of the 2027 season on a three-year deal. 'Is there a chance that Souths pushed the button when he kicked that field goal in the World Club Challenge, which is really, let's be honest, in our part of the world, it's a glorified exhibition game?' Ginnane asked. 'He kicks a field goal, they win 13-12, is that a $2 million field goal that he kicked?' Panellist Andrew Webster agreed the Dodd signing was a mysterious one. 'It is one of the more bizarre recruitments, really,' Webster added. 'I've heard from people both in the UK and other recruiters here in the NRL that they were surprised that Souths signed him and threw that amount of money at him. 'Look, it's a $2 million mistake. 'I've heard of other Super League clubs being interested in getting him but they want to be offering some pretty heavy coin for Lewis Dodd to want to move away from the $700,000 a year contract he's on.' Host Braith Anasta said the Rabbitohs' recruitment has left a lot to be desired. 'I really think they've got to change a lot about their recruitment, Souths,' Anasta said. 'I think they've got to take a different direction, moving forward. I say this because, you look at their NSW Cup team, they're coming last, their Jersey Flegg second last, their junior competition is nowhere near where it used to be.' Webster believes South Sydney need to add to their stocks in the forwards. 'They need some middle forwards. That's what they've been missing all year. Through injury and form, they haven't had that at all this year, and where they are on the ladder reflects it,' Webster added. Ginnane pointed out that Latrell Mitchell has missed a lot of games for the Rabbitohs since joining the club. 'Latrell plays 14 games a year. It's fact. He's played 85 games in six years at Souths, so he's going to miss 10 games,' Ginnane added. The Rabbitohs are currently missing a staggering number of players, worth over $6 million, in an injury crisis. Mitchell ($1.1 million), Cameron Murray ($1 million), Keaon Koloamatangi ($650,000), Campbell Graham ($650,000), Cody Walker ($600,000), Brandon Smith ($550,000), Davvy Moale ($500,000), Peter Mamouzelos ($300,000), Jamie Humphreys ($250,000), Jayden Sullivan ($200,000), Mikaele Ravalawa ($165,000) and Bayleigh Bentley-Hape ($120,000) are all currently sidelined.
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
South Sydney's horror year goes from bad to worse as club cops another season-ending injury
South Sydney's horror season has gone from bad to worse, with star prop Keaon Koloamatangi to miss the rest of the year with an ankle injury. Easily the Rabbitohs' best player in a disastrous 2025 campaign, Koloamatangi will require surgery on his syndesmosis after being hurt in Friday's loss to Penrith. His injury will leave him in an overflowing South Sydney casualty ward, that includes Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray and Brandon Smith. The front-rower's injury comes as the club - stuck close to the bottom of the ladder after seven straight losses - battles to avoid a first wooden spoon since 2006. Making matters worse for the Rabbitohs is news that hooker Peter Mamouzelos will also miss Saturday's clash with Cronulla due to a concussion. The Rabbitohs' season had appeared cursed from the moment Murray and Mitchell went down with serious injuries within minutes of each other at training in February. Mitchell missed the first four rounds with a hamstring tear, and has managed only 10 games for the Rabbitohs this season before his latest shoulder issue. Murray, meanwhile, has not played a game all year after a pre-season ruptured achilles tendon. Walker has only played eight games, Campbell Graham 11, Tyrone Munro seven and mid-season recruit Smith re-injured his knee on return from an ACL rupture. Mikaele Ravalawa, Jayden Sullivan and Davvy Moale are among other Rabbitohs players currently sidelined. It comes as Wayne Bennett is fighting to avoid his worst finish in 38 years of coaching in the premiership, having never ended a season lower than 13th on the ladder.
