NRL 2025 LIVE updates: Last-placed Rabbitohs take on Broncos

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Controversial Brisbane five-eighth Ezra Mam has been encouraged not dial down his aggression after standing over the top of Parramatta winger Zac Lomax and shouting at him last Friday.

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Mam helped drive Lomax into touch in the opening minutes of the loss to Parramatta, and quickly made sure he let the NSW Origin winger know what he thought of him.

Footage of the tackle - and Mam's reaction - drew differing opinions over the weekend.

Rather than see Mam dial it down a notch, Brisbane skipper Adam Reynolds was happy for the No.6 to keep trying to inspire his teammates with big plays - and react accordingly.

"That was a bit of emotion coming out, it was a big defensive play, he dragged him over the sideline and was fired up at the time - there was nothing more in it," Reynolds said.

"You can see how much the game means to him when he comes up with a play.

"He tries to do it more than once a game. You love those blokes who go out there and play that style of footy - they're winners, and they're trying to get a result for your team.

"It's great to see. I love it when your teammates do that. You can try and get under the skin of other players and put them off their game a bit.

"It was all in the spirit of the game. There was no malice."

Read the full story from Christian Nicolussi

NRL player agents Chris Orr and Nash Dawson have been issued prospective six and nine month bans over an after-hours altercation at a schoolboy rugby league carnival.

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The pair are alleged to have taken an argument outside a Port Macquarie pub last year while they were in town for the under 15 national titles.

Dawson - whose company manages Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow - is facing a nine-month suspension and $15,000 fine.

Orr - the veteran agent who acts for Dylan Brown, Jahrome Hughes and Kevin Walters among Pacific Sports Management's lengthy list of NRL clients - has been issued a six-month ban and a proposed $10,000 fine.

Brisbane Broncos

1. Reece Walsh 2. Selwyn Cobbo 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Xavier Willison 9. Ben Hunt 16. Corey Jensen 17. Jack Gosiewski 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

Bench: 14. Billy Walters 15. Kobe Hetherington 18. Tyson Smoothy 20. Ben Talty

South Sydney Rabbitohs

1. Jye Gray 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Tallis Duncan 5. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape 19. Lewis Dodd 17. Ashton Ward 8. Jai Arrow 9. Ryan Gray 10. Sean Keppie 11. Euan Aitken 12. Jacob Host 13. Lachlan Hubner.

Bench: 14. Siliva Havili 15. Liam Le Blanc 16. Thomas Fletcher 20. Tyrone Munro

Big news out of the early game tonight, with the Dolphins losing superstar centre Herbie Farnworth to a hamstring injury that could potentially rule him out for the rest of the season. It's early days but it didn't look good when Farnworth dropped to the turf after making a line break from inside his own half, having opened the scoring for the Dolphins against the Warriors.

Farnworth has been not just a try-scoring machine this season but also arguably the best centre in the league, and his absence is the latest blow for a Dolphins side that has been exceeding expectations despite losing a group of forwards to injury this year.

Wayne Bennett is unsure if expensive English recruit Lewis Dodd will see out the remainder of his lucrative deal at South Sydney.

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Souths and Bennett are desperate to fight their way off the bottom of the NRL ladder, and will try to upset the Broncos in their backyard with Dodd recalled to play in the halves at the expense of the suspended Jack Wighton.

Dodd inked a three-year $2m deal that runs until the end of 2027, but has struggled to play regular first grade - and Bennett refused to confirm if the 23-year-old would remain at the club.

"That's a good question, I can't answer that for you right now," said Bennett, when asked about Dodd seeing out his deal.

"Lewis has an opportunity Friday night to play again and show us what he can do and can't do. Let's wait and see how that goes.

"He's got an opportunity to play, he hasn't had that all year, he started last week, he's starting this week, we'll all be smarter in a couple of weeks time."

When told about Bennett's comments, Dodd said shortly afterwards: "I'm here for three years, and that's the plan.

"I've got a chance now, we'll see where that will take me into the off-season, and the start of next [season].

"It's not nice seeing your name all the time in the media, and for your family as well, but it's part of the game.

"I've done everything I can to be at a level where I think I can do what's right for the team, do my job in the team, and not let anyone down. That started last week, and hopefully that will continue to the end of the year."

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's Friday night football battle between the Broncos and Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium.

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There are plenty of reasons for rivalries between these clubs - Souths coach Wayne Bennett made a name for himself at Brisbane, while Broncos captain Adam Reynolds did the same at South Sydney - but this game could also go a long way to deciding where each team finishes this season.

Brisbane are among the premiership contenders but find themselves in a tricky spot after last week's shock loss to Parramatta. They're in sixth place, just one win above the ninth-placed Manly, and two wins adrift of the top four. Lose tonight and their place in the top eight could be in doubt.

Souths meanwhile are stuck at the foot of the ladder, and are facing the prospect of handing Bennett the wooden spoon for the first time in his illustrious coaching career. They've been smashed by injuries, have lost Jack Wighton to suspension and tonight boast one of the least experienced spines in recent memory - Jye Gray, Lewis Dodd, Jamie Huphreys and Ryan Grey.

The Bunnies are big underdogs, but so were the Eels last week and look how that finished up. Follow along for all the action as it happens.