Wayne Bennett says South Sydney are rallying around Nathan Merritt after the club legend announced he was battling stage-four oesophageal and liver cancer.

Only hours before Alex Johnston broke the NRL’s try-scoring record on Friday night, the Rabbitohs’ previous try-scoring wizard Merritt went public with news of his twin diagnoses.

Merritt, who has five children, told The Daily Mail Australia he had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in November and liver cancer in February.

Bennett learned of Merritt’s condition last week.

The Rabbitohs coach compared Merritt to former teammate Johnston in the aftermath of the winger scoring an unprecedented 213th career try on Friday night.

“I know things are happening in the club to support him and that. It’s sad,” Bennett said after Soutths’ 26-18 loss to the Sydney Roosters.

“He was a wonderful player, like Alex here. Great reputation at the club. I know the club is adding support to what’s going on at the moment.”

Merritt is one of the most beloved figures in South Sydney’s modern history, playing 218 of his 237 first-grade games across two stints at the Redfern club.

He was the Rabbitohs’ all-time leading try-scorer with 146 four-pointers when he retired in 2014; Johnston is the only man to have passed him in the years since.

In retirement, Merritt has remained involved with the Rabbitohs through their community organisation Souths Cares and established his own charity, the Nathan Merritt Foundation, in 2014.

Merritt was placed on life support following an adverse reaction to prescription medication in 2023, though made a full recovery.