A trip to the emergency ward, an NRL comeback, and a win over the club he debuted for almost a decade earlier: Saturday was a big one for Matt Dufty.
When the 30-year-old stepped onto Accor Stadium on Saturday night, it had been 1421 days since heโd last played in the NRL after spending four years in the English Super League. But it was like heโd never left.
Dufty scored a try and ran 333 metres in the Rabbitohs 30-12 victory against the Dragons. It was the most metres he had ever gained in an NRL match.
โI was a bit nervous this morning, but it wasnโt [due to] playing the Dragons, it was more being back in the NRL,โ Dufty said after the match.
โI think I had a lot to work on when I went to England, and I think footy gets easier the older you get. Iโve come back a bit more mature, no need to push every pass. Weโve got so much strike, you realise where you fit into the team and your role.โ
Dufty was given a one-year contract with South Sydneyโs NSW Cup team for 2026. But when Jye Gray went down with a shoulder injury against the Raiders a week ago, Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett handed Dufty a Rabbitohs debut.
When he packed his bags and left for England in 2022, Dufty didnโt think heโd play in the NRL again.
โI think once you go there, you know itโs hard to come back, even if youโre killing it because the game is getting faster … [and then] you look at some of the fullbacks coming through, and theyโre electric,โ Dufty said.
โSometimes, you do need an old head. I was lucky enough, even Jye Gray, heโs young, and heโs quick, and heโs electric. He does everything, heโs brave, so you know I just wanted to come and strengthen the squad because if Jye goes down like he did, then I can just step up and do my job.โ
The days before Duftyโs NRL return were anything but relaxing, and hours before the match, Dufty and his wife were in hospital with health concerns for their baby daughter, who had been born a few days earlier.
โWe were in emergency this morning, I was going, โOh my God, but it was all goodโ,โ Dufty said.
โIt was fine, you know what newborns are like, you just get everything checked. Thank God, sheโs all good.โ
All good, too, are Dufty and the Rabbitohs seven weeks into the season.
Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
