Wayne Bennett has confirmed star duo Cody Walker and Campbell Graham are fit to play in the Good Friday clash against the Bulldogs after getting through captain’s run, with Englishman Lewis Dodd to make his long-awaited debut off the bench.
Dodd forms part of a well-stocked lot of halves at the Bunnies allowing Bennett to rule out any interest in Lachlan Galvin when he makes his Wests Tigers exit.
Walker was in doubt with a hamstring injury while Graham has been missing for a few weeks, but both men have been cleared and will start in front of a crowd that could reach 70,000 at Accor Stadium.
Graham will start on the wing, but the most interest is on Bennett’s bench where Dodd will play his first NRL game for the club after spending the opening rounds of the season in reserve grade.
Dodd signed a three-year deal back in 2024 but missed the chance to start in round one after copping a suspension in the pre-season, while he also missed last week’s game after earning another ban in NSW Cup.
But injuries and suspensions to other playmakers in the squad have opened the door for him to finally make his Souths debut, although Bennett wasn’t willing to divulge how he plans on using the halfback.
“I’ve got to get him on the footy field first, so let me get him on the field and then we’ll make a few decisions,” he said.
“The game could go anywhere so there are no guarantees what anyone on the bench (will end up doing).
“I know he can play halfback and five-eighth, Cody can play a lot of places and Latrell can, so it depends what our needs are.
“But that’ll hopefully be in the second half, not in the first half.”
Dodd was seen as the man to replace Ilias this year, but Bennett’s arrival and the form of Jamie Humphreys left fans wondering whether the Englishman was part of their plans going forward.
Teammates have praised him for his attitude in reserve grade to start the year, while Bennett can’t understand how anyone could judge his form when he hasn’t even got on the field yet.
“I don’t know how you can have detractors without playing a game,” he said.
“He’s in our club here and I want him to do well, and we’ve worked with him to be able to do that.
“He had a couple of opportunities to be selected but he was suspended on both occasions.
“He’s here now, so let’s see what happens.”
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