South Sydney seek NRL exemption for Matt Dufty to face Dragons
South Sydney have applied for NRL permission to promote Matt Dufty to the first-grade squad to face his former club St George Illawarra this weekend after full-back Jye Gray suffered an AC joint injury that could keep him out for up to a month.
Dufty, 30, returned to Australia at the end of last season after a spell in the Super League to be closer to his family as his partner was expecting their baby.
The on-air speedster has signed a deal with the Souths to play in the NSW Cup, but Gray’s injury has led the club to seek NRL approval to play against the Dragons as early as this weekend.
If Dufty is given the green light, there will be no shortage of motivation to shine against the Red V, where he started his NRL career.
Under the rules, reserve grade players cannot be promoted to the NRL until after round 11 unless there is a shortage of options in certain positions.
Latrell Mitchell is an established full-back and was moved to the back during the defeat to Canberra in Perth when Gray walked off the field in the first half.
However, Mitchell spent little time training at full-back over the summer and found a home at left centre-back.
If Mitchell moved to a guard role, Souths’ options at outside linebacker would be limited, especially with Isaiah Tass (knee) and Tyrone Munro (stand) already unavailable.
Dufty scored a hat-trick against the Dogs during the Good Friday curtain raiser and featured in Sunday night’s win over Parramatta. The Southerners were opposed to taking him out of the Eels clash as he awaited exemption from the NRL. He also impressed coaches during pre-season trials, including running north of 200 meters against the Dragons.
In other team news: Jake Trbojevic (eye) He trained away from Manly’s main group on Monday but has already announced he will be ready for the trip to Townsville on Thursday.
Pat Carrigan also accepted a two-match ban, which will see him miss Saturday’s clash with Wests Tigers at Campbelltown.
