Lachlan Ilias is just 21 and has played only four NRL games, but Phil Gould insists Latrell Mitchell and his other megastar teammates must let the South Sydney halfback take control.
Ilias will face a colossal test as Adam Reynolds‘ successor when the Rabbitohs meet the Panthers in a grand final rematch in Penrith on Friday night.
The young playmaker will form a spine with fullback Mitchell, five-eighth Cody Walker and hooker Damien Cook in round four – and Gould warned that if Ilias didn’t call the shots the Rabbitohs’ attack would disintegrate.
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“… what I like is they’re letting this kid develop his game… everyone’s saying Cody Walker needs to take control; Cody Walker doesn’t need to take control. He needs to give this kid his space to learn his trade and get in the game so they can all stay and play their game. That won’t happen in the first few weeks but it will as the season wears on,” Gould said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“Big test for the kid this week. He’s going to get a lot of pressure from this fast-moving Penrith defence. It’s not going to be easy for him at all.
“But, you’ve got three of the world’s best playmakers in the team. It’s really great now to blood a kid and bring him in and give him a couple of seasons to get his act together.”
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Ilias’ only first-grade game ahead of this season came in round 25, 2021, when he joined Benji Marshall in the halves as a host of top-line players were rested ahead of the finals.
This is the first season since 2011 that Reynolds isn’t the Rabbitohs’ specialist halfback. Chris Sandow was the man for the job in 2011 and in three seasons prior.
Gould encouraged Ilias to not be daunted by the formidable records of Mitchell, Walker and Cook, which include premierships and representative honours.
“The test for him is to be telling them three what to do, because that’s his job,” Gould said.
“That’s what Reynolds would have done.
“Now, if he comes into the side and they start telling him what to do, the whole system breaks down. The halfback’s got to be able to tell them what to do, and he’s got to forget about their scrap books and forget about their reputation and be wheeling them around the paddock.
“Once he starts to do that, you’ll see South Sydney return.”
The Rabbitohs lost their first two games of the season but struck back in a 28-16 win over traditional rivals the Roosters last Friday night.
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