Source : ABC NEWS
— reporting by AAP
Only hours before the NRL comeback he thought would never happen, Matt Dufty had been waiting in a hospital emergency room with his newborn daughter.
It’s been a big few weeks for the South Sydney recruit, who was called up for his first NRL game in nearly four years just days after his partner gave birth to a baby girl.
Replacing the injured Jye Gray at fullback, Dufty ran for more than 300 metres and scored a try in Saturday night’s 30-12 defeat of his old side St George Illawarra.
But footy had been the farthest thing from Dufty’s mind on Saturday morning, as he awaited news on what turned out to be a false alarm over his daughter’s health.
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“We were in emergency this morning, I was going, ‘Oh my God, but it was all good’,” the former Dragons and Canterbury speedster said on Saturday night.
“It was fine, you know what newborns are like — you just get everything checked.
“Thank God, she’s all good.”
Dufty’s impending fatherhood had been part of the reason he returned to Australia from a three-and-a-half year stint with English outfit Warrington.
The Sam Burgess-coached side had also been keen to prioritise young fullback Cai Taylor-Wray.
His career at a crossroads, Dufty called Souths assistant coach Ben Hornby, who helped pull together a one-year NSW Cup deal for his long-time mate.
But 30-year-old Dufty had been around long enough to know that few make it all the way on the road back from Super League to the NRL.
“Once you go there, you know it’s hard to come back, even if you’re killing it,” Dufty said.
“Because the game’s getting faster (in the NRL) and younger kids are just getting that good.”
When one of those young kids — Souths fullback Gray — suffered a shoulder injury in round six, coach Wayne Bennett opted against shifting Latrell Mitchell to number one.
Instead, Souths sought dispensation to reach outside their top-30 squad and call up a like-for-like replacement in Dufty.
Dufty admitted it was all the sweeter to play so well against his old firm the Dragons, who opted against renewing his contract after the 2021 season.
It has nevertheless pained Dufty to see the club languishing at the bottom of the ladder without a win in 2026.
“It was (good to do it against the Dragons),” Dufty said.
“I do feel bad for them, I’ve got a soft spot for the Dragons, St George junior, debuted there. It’s hard to see a club struggling.”
Now, after his first taste of NRL action in 1,421 days, Dufty is hungry for more chances and feels he’s a more mature man and player than ever.
Dufty has quit alcohol to focus on fatherhood and his career, and learned plenty of on-field lessons during his time abroad.
“I had a lot to work on when I went to England. Footy gets easier the older you get,” he said.
“I’ve come back a bit more mature.”
And even if he’s unsure of his future beyond 2026, there’s one thing Dufty does know.
“When you play good footy, if it’s in Cup, if it’s in (first) grade, good things follow,” he said.
