South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett is reportedly weighing up the idea of not playing new recruit Lewis Dodd in the opening round of the 2025 NRL season.
Dodd joined the club and was set to take over the number seven jumper after leaving the English Super League, with the playmaker regarded as England's most talented.
But the question has lingered - whether he would have what it takes to cut the mustard in the NRL.
And Wide World of Sports' The Mole is now reporting that Jamie Humphreys has been training strongly enough to push for the first number seven jumper of the season when South Sydney opens their campaign in Round 1 against Bennett's old club in the Dolphins.
Like Dodd, Humphreys is a new recruit at the Maroubra-based outfit this year, having made the switch from the Manly Sea Eagles during the off-season.
Rated as a real talent with the ability to play a handful of positions, Humphreys was viewed as more likely to feature off the bench than anywhere else, although outside the 17 if South Sydney are at full strength.
That may not be the case anymore though with the most recent report.
One thing that is clear is that Bennett will be out to avoid the need to have both Jack Wighton and Cody Walker in the halves at the same time.
It was something interim coach Ben Hornby was forced to employ through injury issues on multiple occasions in 2024, but something that simply didn't work, with both players more suited to the five-eighth role.
Wighton will almost certainly shuffle back out to the centres before playing five-eighth in 2026 if Walker elects to hang up the boots at the end of 2025.
