Lachlan Ilias has requested and been granted permission to negotiate with rival clubs after South Sydney signed St Helens Super League halfback Lewis Dodd.
Ilias is signed to the Rabbitohs until the end of 2025, but was dropped for Dean Hawkins before breaking his leg in reserve grade and being rubbed out for the year and with Dodd’s signing his future is unclear.
“Lewis Dodd from St Helens in the Super League has been signed by the South Sydney Rabbitohs to play No.7 next year, this to me, or to most, I think, come out of the blue, but a big signing and a big coup for the Bunnies,” Braith Anasta said on NRL 360.
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Dean Ritchie believes it is a massive risk for the Rabbitohs to take on a young Super League half at 22 years of age.
“Certainly high risk though, in my opinion,” Ritchie said.
“Jimmy (Graham), you’ve come from the Super League, it’s inferior, vastly inferior. And for him to have to do what he did at St Helens, week after week over here, I’d deem it a high risk recruitment.”
Phil Rothfield questioned if it was a PR stunt by the club battling for some good news as they are on the bottom of the ladder.
“Is it a PR signing of a desperate club, bit like the West Tigers when they paid Josh Reynolds, all that money, remember, and the front-rower from New Zealand?” Rothfield said. “Is it PR? Is it to take pressure off the board? They need, in my view, they need a coach and a big middle forward more.”
James Graham believes Dodd’s signing is not the one that can help fix Souths’ glaring issues.
“Well, I was going to say, in terms of recruitment, watching South Sydney, they don’t need to add to their spine,” Graham said.
“They need to add to their middle. That would be where there seems to be a hole in their roster.
“They’re losing Tom Burgess next year. If you’re going to address… Like, points aren’t their problem. They scored 20 points down in Melbourne.
“They need to defend better. They need better middle forwards out there that can play on a more consistent basis, in my opinion.”
Rothfield revealed the dire state of Souths’ defensive game.
“Souths have conceded 250 odd points in eight weeks,” Rothfield said.
“Penrith, all of last year, conceded 320. And this is eight weeks. South Sydney.”
Anasta questioned who made the signing given that Jason Demetriou is unlikely to be the coach long-term, which sparked debate.
“So who’s behind the signing? Because the one thing I find a little bit strange is that there’s no coach there,” Anasta said.
“And they’ve gone and bought a halfback to come in.”
“Well there is a coach, Demetriou,” Rothfield interjected.
“But do we think Demetriou has had any input into this signing,” Ritchie said.
“I can’t believe that he would.”
“Why would he? He’s not going to be there,” Anasta said.
“We know that. Everyone knows that, right? So they’ve gone and made a big call on a No.7 with who’s approval or who’s going to come in and who thinks this guy’s going to be the answer.
“You know, he may well be. But who’s making the decision there?”
“Well, Mark Ellison. Really unusual. Souths don’t have a recruitment manager,” Rothfield explained.
“Mark Ellison, who’s the head of football, handles all recruitment. He’s the one on the plane as we speak, going to the north of England to sign this bloke.”
“So he made the call?” Anasta asked.
“Or Blake Solly or…?”
“Yeah, I presume it was a signing that Blake Solly would have taken to the board and said, this guy’s available,” Rothfield said.
“Because he’s been shopped around this kid to a few other clubs,” Anasta said.
“Yeah, he can play a little bit,” Rothfield said.
“Yeah, he’s a good player, very good player,” Anasta said.
“But there were other clubs that knocked him back because his management was shopping him around and Souths have decided to take it on.”
“I think Dodd will be a great addition to South Sydney, but I don’t think it addresses their issues,” Graham said.
“And I think, like, they’re bringing in a young half with elements of risk, but they’ve got… Where does this leave young Ilias?”
Dean Ritchie asked Anasta, who is Ilias’ manager what his client’s response has been.
“I want to pose that to you, Braith. Lachlan, he’s been given permission this afternoon that he can shop around,” Ritchie asked.
“Yeah he has, so I spoke to Blake Solly over the weekend because I was sort of, OK, where does that leave Lachlan?” Anasta explained.
“And I said, I wanted to know straight away so that I can… If we need to move on, if I need to find him a club or, you know, I want to know ASAP, I sent a formal email this morning to say, can you give me permission to negotiate with other clubs and received one in return by lunchtime.
“So he’s free to negotiate with clubs as we speak.”
Rothfield asked about Ilias’ reaction to the news.
“How does he feel? Is he hurt?” Rothfield asked.
“Yeah, I think… Of course he’s hurt. But he’s such an amazing kid,” Anasta said.
“Even when there was all this fan-fan drama around him being dropped, but he took it like a champion, and we all spoke about it, but he went about his business, he wrote notes, he went back, and unfortunately broke his leg in that third game reserve grade.
“But he’s disappointed because he loves the joint and he’s given his heart and soul to the place, and he didn’t see it coming.”
“Have you had interest yet from other clubs?” Rothfield asked.
“Oh, it’s low-level interest because I haven’t been out of negotiation or talk,” Anasta said.
“So now I can.”
“Do you think the Bulldogs will come knocking Braith?” Ritchie asked.
“Your gut feeling.”
“I don’t know. You know, there’s a lot of teams he could do with a half at the moment,” Anasta said.
Rothfield and Anasta believe a change of club and coaching is exactly what Ilias needs.
“I think Lachlan Ilias is at a stage of his career where a change of club will do him the world of good,” Rothfield said.
“I think he might have suffered a little bit from the coaching available to him.”
“I agree, I see it as a relief because he hasn’t developed the way he should have there,” Anasta said.
“And I think a fresh start for him in a new club, especially the way Souths are at the moment, I think is going to do him the world of good.
“He’s a first-grader, and I’m really looking forward to… I mean, there’s a long way to go here, and he’s still contracted to Souths, and I don’t even know what the interest is, but I think a change would be great for him.”
Originally published as ‘Of course he’s hurt’: Axed Souths halfback shown the door