Rabbitohs sign Lachlan Hubner, Gerome Burns & Max McCarthy until Season 2026

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have announced the signing of three exciting young players until the end of the 2026 season today, including utility forward Lachlan Hubner, five-eighth Gerome Burns and utility forward Max McCarthy.

Hubner, 24, made his NRL debut for the Dolphins in round six of this season against the Broncos and has played three NRL games so far this year. Hubner has also played 70 games in the Queensland Cup competition over the past four years with the Central Queensland Capras. He has been part of the Dolphins system for the past two years, completing pre-season training regimes with the Club before making his debut against the Dolphins’ cross-town rivals, the Broncos, in April this year.

Hubner has shown leadership from a young age, captaining the Capras under 20s team in 2020 as well as captaining his school’s, Emmaus College’s, first XIII at the Confraternity Carnival.

Burns, 26, has played 54 games in the Queensland Cup competition over the past six years, plying his trade with the Souths Logan Magpies, Ipswich Jets and now the Norths Devils, where he led the voting for the Petero Civoniceva Medal as the player of the year in the Queensland Cup at the midway point of this season when voting went behind closed doors. He has signed a development contract with the Rabbitohs for 2025 and a top 30 deal for 2026.

Burns, a proud Wiradjuri-Barunggam man, played for the Queensland under 20s in 2017, the Queensland under 18s in 2016 and the Queensland Murri under 16s in 2014. He won the Mal Meninga Cup Player of the Year award in 2015 and 2016, the Norths Devils Colts Player of the Year award in 2018, and the Best and Fairest and Players’ Player awards for the Ipswich Jets in 2023. He was contracted to the Broncos in the former National Youth Competition in 2020, and he played in an NRL pre-season trial match with the Dolphins in 2024 before starting his Queensland Cup season with the Devils.

Burns also works with Deadly Choices, a proud partner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who aim to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.

McCarthy, 19, will join the Rabbitohs next season on a development contract, moving into the Club’s top 30 contracted players in 2026. This year he is a Member of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks’ Jersey Flegg under 21s team, having played in the Sharks’ SG Ball under 19s squad earlier in the season. McCarthy won the Sharks’ SG Ball Cup Players’ Player award this year and helped lead the Sharks to a Harold Matthews Cup under 17s Grand Final in 2022, the same year in which he won the Coaches Award.

McCarthy brings size and skill and can play in the back-row or middle, giving him great flexibility within the forward pack. A product of Woolooware High School, McCarthy will have the opportunity to train full-time at South Sydney and push for an NRL debut in the coming seasons.

Rabbitohs Head of Football, Mark Ellison, says all three players are ready to take the next step in their careers.

“We’re very excited to be bringing these three players to our Club in 2025 as we believe they all have what it takes to play in the NRL,” Mr Ellison said.

“From our research on, and discussions with, Lachlan, he has the desire, the hunger and the work ethic to take the next step in his Rugby League journey here at South Sydney. He earned his NRL debut at the Dolphins this year and he’s extremely keen to experience more NRL football. With hard work and determination, he may get that opportunity here at the Rabbitohs.

“Gerome is an experienced player in the second-tier level of the game and is ready to make the step up to the higher levels of the sport. We’ve been impressed by him as a person and as a player and he had an opportunity to play in the NRL pre-season challenge with the Dolphins earlier this year.

“Max is a young player who is ready to learn and ready to take the next step in his development, and we’re excited that his opportunity will be with us at South Sydney.

“He has size, skill and is a strong defender; all things that we are looking for in our forwards rotation. The full-time training opportunity will accelerate his development and provide him with opportunities to progress towards an NRL debut.

“We’re looking forward to having Lachlan, Gerome and Max join us in November and we wish them the best of luck for the remainder of their seasons in 2024.”