Both Matty Johns and Bryan Fletcher have claimed the South Sydney Rabbitohs should consider a major switch for new recruit David Fifita to get the Queensland Origin player more involved. The Rabbitohs are set to unleash their dangerous left-edge in round one of the NRL season with Latrell Mitchell expected to make the switch to the centres and link-up with second-rower Fifita.
Cody Walker, Campbell Graham and Cameron Murray are all back for the Rabbitohs in 2026 and the side is starting to shape up for a return to the top eight. However, there are doubts over Fifita’s fitness and ability to get involved on the edge.
At his best for the Titans, Fifita was shrugging off defenders and providing offloads on the edge. Although fans have wanted to see more of this across the 80 minutes with the hulking forward sometimes drifting in and out of games.
This concern prompted Fletcher to suggest suggest Wayne Bennett should consider moving Fifita into the front-row to get more touches of the ball. Fletcher feels Fifita would be a damaging ball-runner through the middle and it would force him to get involved for the Rabbitohs.
Fifita could form a damaging partnership with friend and future teammate Payne Haas when the Broncos star joins the club in 2027. And Johns agreed, suggesting Fifita does his best work when he has more room to get going.
“I think it’ll help Dave too because if you’re a back rower on the edge, it takes a little bit to get the ball there… and that gives outside defenders, even the smaller blokes, an opportunity to get up and into his face, where you see Dave’s best stuff,” Johns said on SEN Radio.
“This is where I look at Dave sometimes and it’s frustrating. Sometimes I look at Dave and I think, does he know what works for him? Because his best stuff is (when) someone will throw him a ball, it’ll bounce along the ground, he’ll just pick it up and then just go whoosh and take off.
“You get a lot more of that sort of broken ball through the middle and when he’s in the middle, he’s not going to have to rely on a creative player to get him the football. Even with Dave, it’s as simple as this, if there’s a good go forward mate just go into dummy half if you want, scoop it and just go.”
