Wayne Bennett returns to the South Sydney Rabbitohs for 2025, hoping to turn one of their worst seasons in decades into a return to glory. But key injuries before the season has even started won’t help.
Season Preview
Things couldn’t get much worse for the Rabbitohs in 2024, finishing second last and only two points clear of the wooden spooners Wests Tigers, and they continued a slide from 2023 where they were leading the competition after 11 rounds then missed the finals. Combining that post-Round 11 run with 2024 results, South Sydney have won just 11 games of the next 37. So Wayne Bennett has a big job to do, but not forgetting his last game in charge of South Sydney was the 2021 Grand Final.
It shouldn’t all be about Bennett, but you just know as 2025 rolls on, it will be.
Sadly for South Sydney fans the promise heading into 2025 has been soured by key injuries to game-breaker Latrell Mitchell and the ever-reliable leader Cameron Murray. Plus it doesn’t look like either Campbell Graham or Alex Johnston will be fit for Round one. This has taken some wind out of the sails for a quick change of direction in the team’s fortunes, and a tough run to start the season also doesn’t help. From Round three to Round eight the Rabbitohs will play all of the top six teams from 2024. That’s after a trip to Brisbane to face the Dolphins in Round one, and a game against Charity Shield rivals St George Illawarra. South Sydney won just one of the 11 games in 2024 they played against their opponents from the first eight rounds of 2025. Including losing the last nine straight.
Despite the injuries, South Sydney still have quality: with Cody Walker key in attack, and Keaon Koloamatangi in the forward pack, to lead the Rabbitohs up the ladder in 2025. South Sydney and Bennett will need them to fire up early, otherwise their season could be struggling before Mitchell returns from injury.
Best Signing
Embed from Getty ImagesYou could probably argue Wayne Bennett is the Rabbitohs’ best signing for 2025, but going for on-field is a key position that South Sydney have struggled with since a club legend departed.
Halfback has been that concern for the Rabbitohs in 2024, since it was determined Lachlan Ilias was to blame for the Rabbitohs’ horror form South Sydney were in and they have needed a permanent solution to the halfback position. In from St Helens (in the UK Super League) is Lewis Dodd, who is one of the most promising halfbacks playing the UK competition. With several clubs circling Dodd, the Rabbitohs should count themselves lucky, but the star UK halfbacks are hit-and-miss in the NRL.
But will Dodd play in Round one, or will the supercoach Wayne Bennett pull a Rabbit out of his cap and go for Jamie Humphreys instead? The off-season signing from Manly could well end up as South Sydney’s key signing with a fraction of the fanfare. He showed a lot of promise in small glimpses last season, and the canny Bennett does like a left-field option.
The Rabbitohs’ off-season recruitment is interesting and could be genuinely game-changing at their best, with Josh Schuster and Jayden Sullivan joining from Sydney clubs, but it also wouldn’t surprise if either goes pear-shaped. Bennett has also brought in some reliability, with workhorse Euan Aitken and the promising Lachlan Hubner with him from the Dolphins.
Key Player
Embed from Getty ImagesLatrell Mitchell at his very best means South Sydney are at their very best. And the signs were good heading into 2025, with a leaner and meaner Mitchell getting the job done in pre-season. There was a buzz heading into 2025 as even Wayne Bennett appearing to get excited about how good Mitchell looked in training. But sadly Mitchell suffered a hamstring injury in a training session on Wednesday (19th Feb) and looks set to miss at least six weeks, depriving South Sydney of one of their superstars and a game-breaker at his best.
You could argue that after Latrell, captain Cameron Murray would be the next most key player, but sadly he has also been injured in the same pre-season session, with an Achilles injury that looks set to end his season.
With those key injuries, South Sydney will be looking to Jack Wighton, who did surprisingly well in an ordinary Rabbitohs side in 2024, and Cody Walker to be the key players to step up for the first few months of the 2025 season.
Player to Watch
Embed from Getty ImagesThe bad luck for Cameron Murray may turn into good luck for Tallis Duncan: a player who could really kick on in 2024.
With just 27 games under his belt since making his debut in 2023, Duncan looks like he could be given the starting lock position for Round one, and the versatile Rabbitoh forward will no doubt enjoy getting a crack at the starting side.
He played well in the recent Harvey Norman All Stars game for the Indigenous team – topping the run metres and total runs made in a hard-fought contest; a good effort off the bench and a good sign he is ready for a breakout 2025. Given their 2024 form and the recent key injuries, they’ll need it.
Another player from that Harvey Norman All Stars game ready to have a big season is Tyrone Munro. If he stays fit.
