Like seeing an ex thrive with a new partner, you could forgive Rabbitohs fans for thinking what could have been after witnessing Adam Reynolds' rugby league IQ on Friday night.

The 32-year-old halfback kicked a ball into a Panthers player's legs before it bounced out, immediately challenging the referee's decision of not played at, winning possession, and calmly slotting the match-winning field goal.

However, Lachlan Ilias is the younger model, proving that sometimes to get over an ex, you need to see how much your new partner has to offer.

And Ilias has a lot to give.

South Sydney's entire spine was off-contract in 2023, yet all the headlines spoke about the Rabbitohs 'big three' - Damien Cook, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell.

All bona fide Origin stars and holding impressive resumes, but while the trio filled the back page and created discussions over when they'd put to paper, Ilias quietly re-signed through to the end of 2025, backing himself to step out of their shadows this season.

He didn't just step out of them on Saturday night, he outshone the rest.

The halfback pulled off a miraculous try-saver to deny Ronaldo Mulitalo a certain try just seven minutes into the contest, before scoring the Rabbitohs' first try of the season just minutes later.

However it was his defence that deserves the applause, crunching a number of defenders and protecting the try-line like it was a grand final, even forcing errors from Cronulla's forwards in one-on-one collisions.

It was a statement game, and a mighty one at that.

Renowned for their lethal left edge, the Bunnies parked that Ferrari and handed the keys to Ilias instead, with all four of their tries coming down the right passage after Ilias put Keaon Koloamatangi over, as well as a double to Campbell Graham.

While his stats don't reflect it, Ilias was dominant. Practically told to do his job and let the rest of the spine shine last year, the halfback has decided enough is enough, it's his time to earn that praise.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 21: Lachlan Ilias catches a pass during a South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL training session at Redfern Oval on March 21, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

South Sydney's head coach Jason Demetriou wasn't ready to say it was his best first-grade so far, but admitted that level of performance from Ilias didn't take him by surprise.

โ€œI don't know, it is up there he was good,โ€ Demetriou said in the post-match press conference.

โ€He wasn't perfect and I didn't think he was going to be. I didn't think anyone was going to be it is Round 1.

โ€œBut he's a first grader. He has an established first grader and he knows how to play footy and I thought he identified some areas that we could exploit in the first half and in the second half they were pretty clinical in going after it.

โ€œThat effort in the first half (try-saver on Mulitalo) that was a big play.

โ€We went up the other end and scored as well, but I've watched him do that all pre-season.

โ€œI have seen him make those efforts and every week and I wasn't surprised to see him put it in.โ€

Now, instead of thinking what could have been if the Rabbitohs retained Adam Reynolds, Bunnies' fans have years and years of quality from Ilias ahead of them, while 'Reyno' enters what could be his penultimate season in the NRL.

So while Reynolds walks around with his new partner in the Broncos, showing the world what's on offer, South Sydney will be hoping to put a ring on Ilias' finger sooner rather than later.