Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick facing eight week ban for Lachlan Ilias hit

The man behind the hit that broke dropped Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Ilias’ leg is set to be rubbed out for an extended period.

Lachlan Ilias broke his leg in the gruesome hit. Photo: Instagram and NRL images

The man who put the hit on Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Ilias in NSW Cup is set to spend up to two months on the sidelines after being referred directly to the NSWRL judiciary over the incident.

Freddy Lussick, 23, who has played 39 NRL matches for the Roosters, Dragons and Warriors since 2020, is facing a ban of between six and eight weeks for the hit, according to The Daily Telegraph.

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In what was the final play of the day, Lussick attempted a charge down as Ilias kicked but it went badly wrong as the Rabbitohs held on for a 26-20 win in reserve grade.

Despite next to no time left on the clock, Lussick was sent off and sparked a brawl, which also saw Moala Graham-Taufa sin binned.

Reports from the ground were that there was an audible noise from the hit.

“No surprise it’s a fracture. I’m sure I heard the snap from 20 metres away,” Greg Alexander told Fox League.

“It looks like it was Freddy Lussick’s knee that made contact with Lachie Ilias’ leg and broke it.

“We don’t want to put a time frame on his return, but a broken leg is six-plus weeks easy.

“Depending on the severity of the fracture he could be out for longer.”

Six to eight weeks is a long lay off. Photo: NRL Images.

Ilias had surgery over the weekend and is expected to be out for an extended period.

The South Sydney halfback was helped from the ground by a teammate and a member of the club’s medical staff, with Ilias leaving the field on crutches with his right foot elevated.

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou went up the tunnel with Ilias and described the situation as “pretty sad to see”.

Ilias had been playing reserve grade since he was dropped in round two, seemingly a scapegoat as the Rabbitohs sit 1-4 after five rounds.

It’s left Demetriou reportedly fighting for his coaching career with claims he has an ultimatum to win next round against the Sharks on Saturday night or lose his job.

What makes this harder is Latrell Mitchell being out for the next three weeks after taking the early plea for his elbow to Shaun Johnson’s head while in possession of the ball.

Lussick is set for a long lay-off. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Just another headache for Demetriou. Photo: NRL Photos

Even Demetriou lashed out at Mitchell after the side’s 34-4 loss to the Warriors, calling the elbow and a lifting tackle on Tohu Harris, which he wasn’t charged for, as “just stupid”.

“They’re both just stupid things. He’s got to be better, simple as that,” Demetriou said.

“It’s not something for me to talk about now. As a group we’ll be honest and look at things we need to be better at as we do every week.

“It’s balancing emotion over getting our jobs done and the desire of wanting to compete but also controlling our emotions.

“A big part why we are losing our focus is because we are carrying our divots.

“It’s not on Latrell. There are things he needs to be better at but there are a hell of a lot of other blokes who need to be better as well.”

Originally published as Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick facing eight week ban for Lachlan Ilias hit