Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
Adam Reynolds was \u201cextremely surprised\u201d his former club South Sydney failed to reach the NRL finals, and believes Lachlan Ilias had been unfairly blamed for following an out-dated game plan.<\/p>\n
Broncos skipper Reynolds flew to Sydney to attend the NRL finals launch on Monday as some of his old Souths teammates were still trying to comprehend how they went from leading the competition after 11 rounds to missing out on September completely.<\/p>\n
Souths halfback Ilias came under fire over the weekend from former Souths No.7s Craig Field and Craig Coleman, but Reynolds questioned if his successor was more a victim of an attacking style that worked for him when he was still at the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel for Lachie, and it\u2019s never easy taking over from a player who was there for 10 years, won a grand final, and just been in a grand final,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pressure and expectation from the get-go was always going to be a lot greater compared to another halfback.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adam Reynolds was surprised his former team missed out on the finals series.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Dion Georgopoulos<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThat 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\u2019s been thrown and asked to play that role.\u201d<\/p>\n Field took to Facebook over the weekend and posted: \u201cI\u2019ve got to get it off my chest \u2013 don\u2019t care what the people at Souths think \u2013 but number 7 is not up to what this coach thinks.\u201d Coleman, who has criticised Ilias on several occasions, liked Field\u2019s post.<\/p>\n Jack Wighton joins the club next year as a centre, but some commentators, including James Graham, said on Triple M Wighton could be best suited moving into the halves and linking with Walker.<\/p>\n Reynolds was convinced Souths could go all the way this year after they thrashed Brisbane in round nine, but said it was a completely different team the Broncos later met \u2013 and defeated \u2013 in round 21.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember playing them at Suncorp and thinking, \u2018wow, this team has gone to another level\u2019, but then playing them later in the year on the Sunshine Coast and there being a different vibe,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t seem connected as a group. I\u2019m no longer inside those four walls, so I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on, but I still feel for my mates there. I still get along well with \u2018Cooky\u2019 [Damien Cook], Cody, Latrell, Campbell Graham, Cam Murray … you never want to see them down like they are.<\/p>\n \u201cI still speak to Lachie and check in to make sure he\u2019s all right. I know the pressure he\u2019s under as young fella trying to make his own career. He\u2019s getting blamed for a lot he shouldn\u2019t be getting blamed for. As long he\u2019s got support around him, he\u2019ll be right.\u201d<\/p>\n Reynolds declared himself a certain starter on Friday night against the Broncos after feeling a \u201cpop\u201d in his calf at training in the bye round, which was later diagnosed as a grade-two tear.<\/p>\n He was aware Melbourne had won their past 14 straight games against Brisbane, but a full-strength Broncos, including the return of Pat Carrigan (foot) was not one to be taken lightly.<\/p>\n \u201cHoodoos are only hoodoos if you believe in them; if we play our brand of football and get it right on the night, I don\u2019t think anyone can beat us,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
From our partners<\/h3>\n