Souths’ new halves won’t fire for up to two years, says Matthew Johns as Bunnies suffer injury shock

Souths have been rocked by the news that young halfback/fullback Blake Taafe could miss a month of football through injury, but media personality and former Kangaroo Matty Johns believes their pain could last a lot longer – up to two years.

The Fox Sports media personality blasted the Rabbitohs for letting star halfback Adam Reynolds walk out the door and said it could take ’30 to 40 weeks’ for them to recover. 

Compounding the issue will be the loss of Taafe who rolled his ankle at training ahead of the round one clash against the Brisbane Broncos. Channel Nine’s Danny Weidler has reported that the promising young back will likely miss three to four weeks.

While Latrell Mitchell will slot back into the fullback role after a six week suspension for his sickening shot on Sydney Rooster Joey Manu in 2021, there are still plenty of question marks over the Rabbitohs halves of Cody Walker and Lachlan Ilias.

Johns put the club on blast for the decision to let Reynolds walk away from the club and said there could be years of pain as a result. 

‘What we saw again from Souths (on Friday) was the crazy decision to allow Adam Reynolds to leave the club,’ Johns told SEN 1170.

‘Ilias is a very good player and he’ll end up going on to play 200 games.

‘But it takes you 30 to 40 games to not just get used to the pace of NRL football but then on top of that to organise other guys into shape.

Halfback Lachlan Ilias, 21, has been tasked with the massive job of filling the boots of former Souths skipper Adam Reynolds

‘They were saying he’s a very good talker and a good organiser, but this is another step up.’

Both the Broncos and Souths missed Reynolds in the Friday night season-opener between the clubs, with the former New South Wales general ruled out of the clash through COVID-19 protocols.

Reynolds played 231 games in the cardinal and myrtle and led the Rabbitohs to the NRL premiership in 2014 and a grand final appearance in 2021.

His request for one, last big contract from the Bunnies was ignored and he ultimately signed a three-year deal with the Broncos. Souths had only been prepared to offer a two-year deal with an option in the club’s favour for 2023.

Instead, Souths opted to pair 21-year-old Ilias with former New South Wales five-eighth Cody Walker. 

While Walker had 13 runs for 78 metres in his side’s 11-4 loss to the Broncos, he was below his usual best with no line breaks, line break assists or try assists while he had two errors and gave away a penalty. 

Cody Walker had a quiet night against the Brisbane Broncos in round one of the NRL season and Matthew Johns believes there is too much pressure on him following Reynolds’ departure

Walker also threw an intercept pass for Albert Kelly to streak away and score for the Broncos – reminiscent of last year’s NRL grand final.

Johns said that Souths fans could expect more pain as Walker will continue to be put under pressure as Ilias adjusts to his role in the side and the NRL.

‘It just puts a huge strain on Cody Walker and you can see how much adjusting they still have to do,’ Johns said.

‘I couldn’t understand the Adam Reynolds decision back then and I don’t understand it now.’