Brandon Smith's long-awaited return from an anterior cruciate ligament rupture has ended in tears, with the South Sydney recruit injuring his knee again in the Rabbitohs' 30-12 loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval.
On a day where Tom Trbojevic showed signs of returning to his best playing centre, Smith suffered a medial ligament tear that Souths expect to sideline him for eight weeks.
Smith's right knee was hurt when Matt Lodge's weight fell on it in a tackle late in the game, as the Rabbitohs spiralled to a sixth straight loss on Sunday to sit second-last on the ladder.
"He's done a medial ligament, it will be six-to-eight weeks from that tackle," Bennett said.
Smith was playing his first match since early September, after moving from the Sydney Roosters earlier this year.
Rabbitoh #1210 🐰❤️ðŸ'š pic.twitter.com/2nPlGydUYs
— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🰠(@SSFCRABBITOHS) July 6, 2025
Asked whether he believed the contact from Lodge was of a hip-drop nature, Bennett suggested Souths were unlucky not to get a penalty from it.
"It's up to them to decide, but we're not playing with a lot of luck, and we didn't get any there from that decision either," Bennett responded.
"I'm frustrated by a lot of things right now, but it's not going to do me any good."
Scott Bailey - AAP
