NRL 2022: Rabbitohs to ramp up talks Lachlan Ilias contract talks, after benching him in Dragons loss

Despite a confidence crushing axing against the Dragons, the Rabbitohs insist Lachlan Ilias remains the future of their club. What’s next for the under fire rookie?

South Sydney insist that Lachlan Ilias remains their future and they are ready to demonstrate that commitment by stepping up talks over a long-term contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of 2025.

The Rabbitohs have held initial talks with Ilias’ manager Braith Anasta over a new deal for the youngster and their determination to continue down that path hasn’t changed in the wake of Thursday night’s loss to St George Illawarra, where Ilias was dragged from the field after 28 minutes.

Immediately after the game coach Jason Demetriou insisted Ilias had been removed for his own good and backed the half to quickly bounce back for the disappointment.

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Rabbitohs young halfback Lachlan Ilias was hooked in the first half of their no-show against the Dragons. Credit: NRL Images.

Chief executive Blake Solly reiterated those comments on Friday and said the club would continue to work towards a new deal for the 22-year-old, whose rise to first grade has been accompanied by intense scrutiny since the departure of Adam Reynolds at the end of last season.

That scrutiny reached a crescendo on Thursday night when Ilias was hooked with 10 minutes remaining in the first half and Souths trailing in a lopsided game.

“We are hoping Lachie commits to the club long-term,” Solly said.

“We see him as a huge part of our future and he has bright future with the club. He came through our Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup system.

“Lachie is well liked by everyone at the club and we have made it clear we want him to have a long-term future here.”

Demetriou’s decision to haul Ilias off the field drew immediate condemnation in some quarters. There was widespread sympathy for the Souths half given he was far from the only Rabbitohs player to be struggling.

“I felt really sorry for him,” Newcastle legend Matthew Johns said on Fox league immediately after the game.

Despite benching him before halftime, the Rabbitohs insist he is their halfback of the future and will ramp up talks to keep him at the club. Picture: Getty Images.

Cowboys and Queensland legend Johnathan Thurston added on Channel 9: “He dropped the ball after the kick-off, but to be hooked after 30 minutes, that’s got to crush his confidence.”

Ilias’ contract situation is one of several that Souths need to work through over the coming months as they look to avoid a repeat of the dramas that shadowed the talks with Reynolds.

Hooker Damien Cook, five-eighth Cody Walker and fullback Latrell Mitchell all enter the final year of their deals on November 1, when they can sign with rival clubs.

When Souths allowed Reynolds to leave, they did so in part because they had some big names coming off contract at the end of 2023 and they needed to keep money up their sleeve.

Talks with Walker and Mitchell in particular will be sensitive for the club given they have the same manager and are at different stages of their careers.

Walker has struggled to recapture the form of last season and at 32, the club is likely to be reluctant to offer him a long-term deal. Mitchell, on the other hand, is likely to command a lengthy contract at top dollar given his standing in the game.

Souths must find a way to keep them and also retain Ilias. It won’t be easy.

“He will be fine,” Anasta said.

“He’s a great kid. He’s very mature. You won’t see a kid work harder than him on his game. You won’t see a kid train harder either on the field or on the training track.

“This is just part of the journey.”

ARE DREADFUL RABBITOHS KIDDING THEMSELVES?

—James Smith

Veteran halfback Ben Hunt’s red-hot individual form in 2022 has been thrilling to watch, but he’d been waiting a while for his club teammates to step up to the plate to help him kickstart the Dragons’ spluttering finals campaign.

In Wollongong on Thursday night, they didn’t just show up, they smashed the door down in a 32-12 victory which featured one of the most dramatic, lopsided halves of footy witnessed in the NRL for some time.

The inspirational power of Hunt would have had even Dragons backline star Zac Lomax’s harshest critics admitting he’d finally produced the form the league world knows he’s capable of, such was Lomax’s seemingly renewed enthusiasm for representing the famous Red V, as he set-up tries, sprinted the ball back purposefully from kick returns and contributed well with his sideline conversions.

Mikaele Ravalawa snared an early double for the Dragons. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Hunt has been in superb form all season, trying his best to have his disjointed teammates singing from the same attacking sheet as him, but with little luck.

Against Souths, he looked to have finally become the inspirational on-field leader the Dragons have needed him to be.

Power centre Moses Suli looked a lot happier – and more destructive – and skilful young five-eighth Talatau Amone will remember feeding off the opportunities presented by Hunt for a long time to come.

GLORY GONE

Hunt really did use the swirling Wollongong breeze as a weapon early, as he looked to trouble Souths with his high kicks. Poor Lachlan Ilias’ night began horribly when he dropped the game’s kick-off and it was a horror movie from then on.

Souths coach Jason Demetriou made the dramatic decision to hook his young halfback from the field with 50 minutes still to play, but he was spoiled for choice for players he could have benched.

Murray, Burgess and Ilias off the field after 27 minutes 🪝🪝🪝

— Michael Carayannis (@MCarayannis) June 16, 2022

Breaking: @BuzzRothfield is being insufferable on text message to me & @MCarayannis on the back of today’s podcast and what’s going on in #NRLDragonsSouths
🔊 https://t.co/JXa9xO8AjI 🙄 pic.twitter.com/1G3BeasTYq

— Adam Mobbs (@AdamMobbs) June 16, 2022

Did Souths spend the afternoon at the Steelers Club beforehand? This is just staggering. #NRLDragonsSouths

— Tim Barrow (@TheBarrow) June 16, 2022

Admin needs a wine.

Souths 0
Dragons 20

— South Sydney Rabbitohs 🐰 (@SSFCRABBITOHS) June 16, 2022

After the match, Demetriou threw his support behind Ilias and stressed the club will play the long game with one of the most talented young halves in the NRL.

“He had a bad day at the office — he wasn’t on his own,” Demetriou said. “He has great resilience and he has a good temperament. He’ll learn from it, no doubt.

“I’ve got no doubt Lachie will be a long-term half.

“He’s a guy who has barely played any footy over the last two years. He is 14 games into his NRL career and we’re 20-odd nil down, it’s not fair to expect him to be the one to get us out of that without the experience behind him.

“That was today. Next week Lachie will be there and he’ll get himself going again.”

Despite his team’s lack of discipline and patience in the first half especially, Demetriou said the panic button won’t be hit at Souths after the heavy defeat to the Dragons.

“That first half wasn’t us,” he said. “It just snowballed out of control. The harder we fought, the worse it got because we were ill-disciplined.

“It’s not about wholesale changes, it’s about getting things right out on the field and sticking together. We’re a good footy side and we’ll show that.”

The damage was done in the first half. The Rabbitohs were dreadful in defence, and could only grab at the opposition in desperation.

The Dragons enjoyed 90 per cent of possession across the opening half-hour, continually catching the Bunnies back-pedalling, relief only coming three minutes from halftime when they received their first penalty of the match. The Dragons went to the break up 32-0.

Cody Walker was frustrated throughout most of the match, barking at teammates and having his own leadership qualities well and truly tested, as he tried to rally a bunch of troops who, at times, looked like they’d only just met each other.

With a solid second-half performance, the loss is certainly nothing to be overly concerned about for Souths, but there are better mindsets to be in as the field enters for the final 10 weeks of the season.

HAPPY 300TH

Before Hunt showed up, the night was supposed to be all about the Dragons’ popular number 9 Andrew McCullough, playing NRL game number 300.

The burrowing, dangerous and darting runner with the ball and defensive workhorse is the 44th player into the 300 club and just the fifth specialist hooker to reach the milestone.

He’s played almost 200 games alongside Hunt, which would have added to the emotion of the occasion for the boy from Dalby.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said what impressed him the most about the emphatic win was the way his side recovered attitude-wise from their poor showing in the loss to the Cowboys the previous round.

“We showed a lot of character after last week, which was one of our worst performances of the season; I liked the way we bounced back after that”, he said.

“I was also really happy they played for Macca (McCullough). The team effort encapsulated everything Macca has done throughout his career. They played for each other; they were all good teammates tonight. It’s great for him and it points to what is possible for our guys.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Rabbitohs to ramp up talks Lachlan Ilias contract talks, after benching him in Dragons loss