The South Sydney Rabbitohs have confirmed the early guilty plea has been accepted for English halfback Lewis Dodd, and he will miss Round 1 of the 2025 NRL season.
Dodd was hit with a Grade 2 careless high tackle charge after a shot on St George Illawarra Dragons winger Sione Finau during the charity shield on Saturday in Mudgee.
The tackle, which came as part of a loss for the Rabbitohs, saw Dodd facing either one match with an early guilty plea, or two if he fought at the judiciary and lost the challenge.
His call to take the early guilty plea now means he will miss the opening round of the campaign, when the Rabbitohs tackle new coach Wayne Bennett's last club the Dolphins in Brisbane.
Dodd is set to be joined on the sidelines by Cody Walker, who has been battling a calf injury he sustained during pre-season training in January.
Walker is still viewed as an outside chance of playing in the media, although a source has previously confirmed to Zero Tackle that Walker will not be available until at least Round 2.
Should Walker join Dodd on the sidelines, it means South Sydney's second stint under Bennett in a season where improvement is needed, will commence without either half.
It was previously reported to Zero Tackle that Jayden Sullivan was set to play in the number six for the opener, while Jamie Humphreys would play the utility role.
It now appears likely Humphreys, who has made the move from the Manly Sea Eagles during the off-season, will start the year in the number seven jumper, with Souths weighing up other options to play as the bench utility, although there are no players who have as much versatility in the squad.
Instead, Souths may elect to run a four-forward bench, or even play Josh Schuster, who can play on the edge or at five-eighth, as part of their Round 1 squad to tackle the Dolphins.
Siliva Havili will likely provide back up at dummy half for the season opener, a role he otherwise wouldn't have played with Humphreys on the bench and able to play either halfback or hooker.
