NRL Rookie Watch: Which Rabbitohs are worth keeping an eye on in 2023?

With the 2023 NRL season nearing, we list the crop of rookies from each club worth keeping tabs on as they aim to join the elite list of budding stars with a Rookie of the Year award to their name.

As per the NRL, “players are eligible for the Rookie of the Year in their debut season and the subsequent two NRL seasons … Once a player plays five (5) NRL Premiership matches (or English Super League matches), he becomes ineligible for the Rookie of the Year in any subsequent seasons”.

Izaac Thompson

Thompson debuted for South Sydney last year as a 25-year-old and looks a strong chance of earning the starting right wing spot come Round 1 this year. Thompson – who made his NSW Cup debut with the Dragons in 2016 – went five years without playing rugby league but returned to the NSW Cup fold with the Rabbits last year after a chance phone call from Hame Sele. Thompson scored 20 tries in 16 reserve grade appearances last season whilst breaking 75 tackles and averaging 145 run metres. He also scored a try in both of his NRL outings and averaged 163 run metres. At 192 cm and 102 kg, Thompson’s large frame makes him difficult to handle carting the ball out of his own end and burrowing close to the try-line. With Taane Milne suspended to start the season, Thompson looks set to line-up outside Campbell Graham on Souths’ right edge and will hope to further impress in pursuit of the role on a full-time basis.

Terrell Kalo Kalo

NSW’s under-19s fullback last year, Kalo Kalo will hope to make the leap up to NRL level this season after a pair of NSW Cup games in 2022. The soon-to-be 20-year-old was a shining light in an otherwise dire Jersey Flegg season for Souths last year and was rewarded with a promotion to NSW Cup level for a short stint. In the lone game he started in his preferred fullback position in NSW Cup, he assisted on a try and ran for 79 metres with two tackle breaks. Kalo Kalo came off the bench in Souths’ first trial running for 50 metres from five carries and has been named in the reserves for this week’s Charity Shield. The departures of Jaxson Paulo and Kodi Nikorima should open up some opportunities for several of South Sydney’s rising outside backs with Kalo Kalo towards the top of that list.

Ben Lovett

Having been promoted from a development contract into the NRL squad for this season, Lovett is tipped by many to debut for the Rabbitohs this season. A shrewd and hard-working edge forward, Lovett made the leap from Jersey Flegg to NSW Cup last season after earning the club’s Jersey Flegg Player of the Year award in 2021. In seven NSW Cup starts last season, Lovett scored four tries, broke 11 tackles, and made 168 tackles. In the second NSW Cup outing of his career, he scored a try, assisted on another, broke a pair of tackles and ran for 118 metres. Lovett will be among those fighting for opportunities should either of Keaon Koloamatangi or Jai Arrow spend time sidelined and, given the form he has displayed over the past two years, will like his chances of earning an NRL debut. Like Kalo Kalo, Lovett made an appearance in South Sydney’s first trial last weekend and has been named among the reserves for this weekend’s Charity Shield.

Josiah Karapani

Karapani is another name that will be hoping to make the leap up to NRL level this season. A highly-touted youngster who showed out in S.G. Ball and Jersey Flegg campaigns for the Rabbits, Karapani made his NSW Cup debut last season appearing in a total of five games, scoring three tries, making six line-breaks, breaking 24 tackles, and averaging 162 run metres. A fleetfooted outside back, Karapani ran for 601 metres and broke 20 tackles in the three games he played on the wing at NSW Cup level. The 21-year-old started in the centres for South Sydney in their opening trial loss to Manly last weekend running for 99 metres from 10 carries and breaking two tackles and has been named in the 18 jumper for this weekend’s Charity Shield.

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