'Nobody wanted him': Matt Dufty's unlikely, poetic NRL return 1420 days in the making

You simply couldn't have scripted this.

Saturday will mark the unlikely return of Matt Dufty to the NRL, four years - 1420 days to be precise - after his last game in the competition.

Dufty last played for Canterbury in their round 12 loss to St George Illawarra in 2022.

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The same St George Illawarra that punted him the year prior after he came through the lower grades from development squads, Harold Matts, SG Ball and Holden Cup wearing the famous Red V jersey and wanting to do his local area proud.

Fast-forward to Saturday night and Dufty returns to the NRL for South Sydney against none other than the Dragons, who are languishing on the bottom of the ladder.

That full-circle moment, which so rarely happens in sport, is just the tip of the iceberg in this rollercoaster story of potential, stardom, disappointment and now redemption.

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In the interest of full transparency, this writer has known Matt Dufty for about two decades, having grown up playing for the same junior footy club - Penshurst RSL - and watched him develop from close proximity, as he turned young rivals to dust with blistering speed before taking those talents all the way to the top.

I've watched him everywhere from Evatt Park to Kogarah Oval to Elland Road in Leeds, where he tore up in the 2024 edition of Super League's Magic Weekend.

It's been a tricky journey for the livewire fullback, from his dazzling Dragons debut in 2017 to a breakout season in 2018 - which was the last time the Red V played finals - to being pushed out of his junior club during Anthony Griffin's tenure in 2021.

At the time, Dragons fans even started a petition to keep Dufty in the red and white, but it fell on deaf ears with club officials and he ended up at Canterbury for a brief stint, before signing a deal with Warrington midway through the 2022 season.

Dufty's time overseas was filled with more highs and lows - he narrowly missed out on the Man Of Steel award due to injury two years ago, but as Warrington's form dipped last season under coach Sam Burgess, the speedster found himself on the outer and was ultimately granted a release from the final year of his Wolves contract

With a desire to return home to Australia, the 30-year-old's options were limited and a phone call to Rabbitohs assistant Ben Hornby got the ball rolling for his NRL revival.

Dufty has a relationship with Hornby dating back to when he was a teenager coming through the lower grades at the Dragons and that helped him get a foot in the door.

His second coming hasn't been by chance - he has worked hard since arriving at South Sydney in the off-season with no guarantees over an NRL call-up, but managed to impress the super coach Wayne Bennett enough to grant him an opportunity.

"I think he's pretty pleased with himself," Bennett told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"He came back, nobody wanted him, he was trying to get a club, he turned up here, he was friends with Ben Hornby, and we thought he could be good for us.

"He's been playing really well. Reserve grade is a pretty high standard. He's really fit, he's trained well, so [first grade] won't be an issue.

"He also played with us in the trials and went well. He's energetic. He's good."

Dufty has also earned the respect of his teammates including Jamie Humphreys.

The pair struck up a relationship and combination during the trials, where Dufty was a standout performer for an under-strength Bunnies side in the Charity Shield.

"I love Duff, he's a great guy firstly," Humphreys said on Tuesday.

"I was lucky enough to get to play the first couple of games in the trials with him, which was really cool. He's been in great form in NSW Cup, he's been killing it - he loves telling everyone about it as well - and he's a great guy to be around.

"It's a great story and it's funny how it works sometimes. He was obviously a Dragons junior and things probably didn't end there the way he wanted them to and his first game back in the NRL with us is hopefully gonna be against the Dragons.

"It seems as though Wayne has these things planned months in advance somehow.

"I'm stoked for him and I think the team appreciates what he does and his story and how hard he's had to work to get back here."

Dufty will step into the void left by Jye Gray, who has gone from strength-to-strength since replacing Latrell Mitchell as the first-choice fullback at Souths.

There was no doubt a temptation to move Latrell back to the No.1 jersey, especially with Gray only expected to be sidelined for a few weeks with an AC joint injury.

But the form of Dufty in his five games this year - which has yielded five tries, five try assists, six linebreaks and 233 run metres per game - was enough to get him the nod.

"You probably couldn't get a closer replacement to Jye than Duff," Humphreys said.

"They're really similar in the way they play, so much energy and they will take the tough carries and make those metres that we need.

"It has a flow-on effect to the edge, that can stay the same and we can continue to build those combinations, which is so important."

When he runs out on Saturday evening in the cardinal and myrtle against the club he spent a large chunk of his career with, there will no doubt be a wave of emotions for Dufty.

But his coach doesn't want to use the familiar opponent as motivation.

"I don't think he's trying to be motivated by that – I don't want him to be motivated by that," Bennett told the Herald.

"That's all over and long gone. That won't help him if he thinks he's going to play well getting [motivated] by that."

If playing against the Dragons won't be extra motivation for Dufty, there are plenty of other driving factors when he steps out onto the field.

In an era where the smaller, faster players are more important than ever, Dufty could be a perfect player to carry on a six-man bench as the season progresses.

Dufty's future is also up in the air and right now, he isn't signed with Souths for 2027.

If he performs well with this opportunity, Bennett could decide to keep him around at the Bunnies, or other clubs could come knocking - potentially the Perth Bears.

But before worrying about the future, Dufty has 80 minutes to get through against a desperate St George Illawarra outfit fighting for coach Shane Flanagan's future.

And while it won't be playing on his mind before kick off, it sure would be poetic if five years removed from the Dragons axing him, Dufty puts the nail in their coffin.