Former South Sydney veteran halfback Adam Reynolds has defended his successor, Lachlan Ilias after the halfback has been on the backend of criticism from some club legends.
Due to the Rabbitohs not making the finals this season, a ton of criticism has been laid on Lachlan Ilias. This would make front page news on the weekend after his ability was questioned by club legends Craig Coleman and Craig Fields following the loss to the Sydney Roosters.
There has also been a question mark surrounding the status of Ilias next season, considering the side will welcome the arrival of representative Jack Wighton from the Canberra Raiders. Early reports have indicated that a major positional shake-up is set to occur at the Bunnies for next season.
However, Ilias has earned the backing of his predecessor, Adam Reynolds, who admits it's hard to slot straight into the team and take over from someone with his skill, expertise, and experience.
“I feel for Lachie, and it's never easy taking over from a player who was there for 10 years, won a grand final, and just been in a grand final,” Reynolds said via the Herald.
“The pressure and expectation from the get-go was always going to be a lot greater compared to another halfback.
“I don't know if they've got the right game plan he wants to play. The game plan they have now is the one implemented when I was there, which involves playing on the ball and creating space for your outside men.
“That was something I could do really well for Cody [Walker] and Latrell [Mitchell] and other players. I see Lachie as a bit more of a runner, but he's been thrown in and asked to play that role.”
The current Broncos halfback also revealed that he was surprised that the Rabbitohs failed to be one of the eight teams to make the finals. South Sydney had a terrific start to the season and was even leading the competition at one stage, but a disastrous past few months saw them drop out of the eight.
An example of the Rabbitohs' poor and inconsistent form this season can be shown in the two matches they had against the Broncos this season. In their first clash in Round 9, the red and green would emerge victorious by 26 points (32-6), but they would then concede 36 points in their second meeting, losing 36-20 to Brisbane.
“I remember playing them at Suncorp and thinking, ‘wow, this team has gone to another level', but then playing them later in the year on the Sunshine Coast and there being a different vibe,” Reynolds said.
“They didn't seem connected as a group. I'm no longer inside those four walls, so I don't know what's going on, but I still feel for my mates there. I still get along well with ‘Cooky' [Damien Cook], Cody, Latrell, Campbell Graham, Cam Murray ... you never want to see them down like they are.
“I still speak to Lachie and check in to make sure he's all right. I know the pressure he's under as [a] young fella trying to make his own career. He's getting blamed for a lot he shouldn't be getting blamed for. As long he's got support around him, he'll be right.”