NRL 2025: St George Illawarra halfback Lachlan Ilias bounces back from the year from hell

This time last year, Lachlan Ilias was at South Sydney in Las Vegas amid a mountain of pressure to keep his position. After being dropped and horrifically breaking his leg in reserve grade, he says his Dragons’ lifeline has made him a better player.

St George Illiawarra playmaker Lachlan Ilias. Pic: Instagram

After the year from hell, St George Illawarra halfback Lachlan Ilias claims he’s a better player now than he ever has been as he prepares to make his fresh start in 2025.

This time last year the 24-year-old was starting the season with South Sydney in Las Vegas amid a mountain of pressure to keep his position.

He was then dropped from the NRL side after two games and suffered a horrific broken leg while playing reserve grade, ending his season on a dark note before he was handed a lifeline with the Dragons in November.

Ahead of what’s expected to be a sold out clash with Canterbury at WIN Stadium on Saturday, Ilias has reflected on his growth across the past 11 months and why he’s a better player at the Dragons.

“Yeah, I think I’m a better player,” Ilias said on Tuesday.

“Any half maturing would agree with me.

“They would say that they’re better off with that extra year. I think that’s the main part about being a half. It’s getting through the first couple of years. Everyone’s been down, no matter who you are. So it’s just getting through those first couple of years, and then maturing and finding yourself. I think I have, so I’m excited to show that this year.”

It was a long road to recovery.

“(When it happened) It was expected that I was out for the year, so I accepted that pretty early on,” he says.

“But I reckon after the surgery I was in quite a bit of pain, just with a lot of swelling. Leg ballooned out.

“It was probably those first two weeks that was probably the toughest. But since then you see slight improvements every single day, every week.

“So just even walking to crutches, one crutch to walking, that’s big improvements. It definitely helps the mental side.”

Ilias was touted as the next big thing at the Rabbitohs but struggled for consistency in his two seasons as a starting half.

On reflection he’s learned to simplify things.

“I think it’s just about worrying about your role. You can probably think, coming through, that you’ve got to think about a lot of other things,” he said.

“Maturing is simplifying what you need to do. I think just simplifying and getting good at your role.

“I’m happy with my role here. We’ve got a lot of strike all over the park, so I’ve just got to do my job and give them the ball when they need the ball. I’m excited to play.”

Ilias forms part of a brand new spine along with former Souths teammate Damien Cook, who pushed the Dragons to get him on board for this season.

Newly crowned skipper Clint Gutherson as well as five-eighth Kyle Flanagan round out the spine, which has quickly clicked if their trial form is anything to go by.

A 46-26 win over Souths was an exclamation point on the pre-season.

“We’ve got strike on both sides of the ball, and I think we’ve got a really good spine as well. I think we’ve got a really levelled and good team across the board that work hard for each other,” Ilias said.

“Hopefully we can show in the first few rounds what we can do, and the pre-season trials, gain momentum from them, and keep working our combinations. It might not work straight away, but we’re excited.”

Originally published as NRL 2025: St George Illawarra halfback Lachlan Ilias bounces back from the year from hell