Jai Arrow has named his 'Player to Watch' for the upcoming 2025 NRL season as the South Sydney Rabbitohs embark on a new chapter with Wayne Bennett retaking the coaching reigns on his return to the club.
Failing to reach the NRL Finals series for the past two seasons, the club have decided to shake things up both on the field and away from the field as they look to reclaim the success that they are known for.
Attempting to be one of the premiership favourites once again, the Rabbitohs have made several new signings, with Euan Aitken, Jamie Humphreys, Jayden Sullivan, Josh Schuster, Lachlan Hubner and Lews Dodd joining the squad.
However, they will be without Damien Cook (Dragons), Dean Hawkins (Eels), Jacob Gagai (overseas), Lachlan Ilias (Dragons), Taane Milne (overseas) and Thomas Burgess (overseas) after they were told that they were no longer needed.
Asked about who will be the 'Player to Watch' in 2025, Arrow admitted that he is "excited" and "looking forward to" seeing Lewis Dodd in the Bunnies jersey who made the move from Super League side St Helens RLFC.
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"I'm excited about Lewis coming to the club. He's in a pretty important position," Arrow said.
"A halfback plays a vital part in a football side so he's someone I'm very looking forward to working with.
"He's fitting in really well. He seems like a really cool, calm and collected sort of young kid who will add a lot of value to the side and excited to see what he can do."
The Origin representative also name-dropped fellow forward Thomas Fletcher as someone to keep an eye on after he was promoted to the Top 30 roster for the first time in his career.
Set to be the future of the Rabbitohs forward pack one day, Fletcher was on the development list last season but has yet to make his NRL first-grade debut.
A Coonamble Bears junior, the 21-year-old struggled with injuries in 2024 after sustaining a high-grade hamstring injury and would only end up making five appearances in the NSW Cup.
However, he averaged 63 running metres and 23 tackles per game, with his best performance coming in his last match of the season, where he scored two tries in 32 minutes against the Sydney Roosters.
"There's a lot of smarts about him big Fletch," Arrow added.
"I'm excited for Fletcher as well, actually. He's a big kid, a big powerful kid and he does his job. He does what he's told. He listens, he's willing to learn.
"He's a big powerhouse, so we're looking forward to seeing him get another full pre-season under his belt (and) build some strength, build some size.
"He's only young as well, but I think Wayne's pretty good at not rushing kids too soon. I'm sure there'll come a time this year where we'll need him and I'm sure he'll get a crack this year."
