Letting Reynolds leave for Brisbane should always be remembered as Solly’s folly

I think Illias is unfairly criticised. Like young Flanno, Walker, and a few others, it is hard to fill the boots of a top flight player. He's done some really good things and Souths, having made their bed, now need to stick with him.

My understanding was that Reynolds wanted 3 but would have settled for 2. Solly wouldn't move from 1. History now confirms that it was one of the dumber CEO decisions in NRL.

So Mitchell pumped up Wighton's tyres to get him to Souths, 31 year old 5/8 Yet stood in the shadows whilst 31 year old Reynolds, his captain, was pushed out? Doesn't like halfbacks? or doesn't like blokes that set high standards ?

And your article was very thought provoking, so thanks for the good read. Here's to the finals!

I wish, but no. It was Xavier Tanner, VFL premiership in 1977 with North Melbourne. Went on to become a math teacher, then deputy principal at a school in Victoria, and was an incredible speaker. I heard him speaking about his time as a footballer many years ago; he covered everything from good vs bad coaching, to concussion and its affects, to the psychology of an individual athlete in a team environment. I vividly remember his comments on the best player he says he ever saw (Wayne Schimmelbush) and how thhis freakish playing ability contributed to his weaknesses as a coach. Sorry to be ambiguous in the initial post, but I try not to flaunt the fact that I follow AFL closely as well as NRL - some people get a bit weird and parochial about their preferred code and I prefer not to get into it.

You may be right, mate and I respect your decision. I just don't totally agree. If there were no mutterings on the training paddock and won even 2 or 3 more games this season, would it have been called a failure, regardless of how the finals pan out? New inexperienced head coach, remember. And if the Broncs crash out of the finals, is that a season failure and Walter's fault for choosing Reynolds for 3 years. Reynolds was at the helm when Broncs crashed and burned last season. Was that a failure by Reynolds?

Tony, this game is a business. Souths had an aging team and more specifically an aging halves pairing. You said that “In 2021, then aged just 31 and still at the peak of his powers” with regard to Reynolds. But he was being nursed through the season at 31. It was a calculated risk to cut on of the halves. They thought Walker was the man to keep. Plenty of other coaches have made similar calls. All it would have taken was one wrong injury at the Broncos and it would have been Brisbane with egg on their face. And besides, Brisbane crashed out of last year’s comp in a similar yet not quite as catastrophic fashion as Souths this year. How did Souths get to heights they reached before their capitulation late in this season if Solly’s error was so gross? “Silly Solly thought he could replace Reynolds with the 21-year-old Lachlan Ilias, and that players like Mitchell and Walker would step up to fill the void left by Reynolds.” A fair assessment, one would have thought. But Mitchell got injured and sidelined for stupid stuff. How many times has that happened around finals time for Mitchell? Of Illias you wrote “Put simply, he’s no Reynolds and most likely never will be.” So how old is this kid again? When is it generally accepted that halves mature in this game? You are writing this kid off. How was Mitchel Moses going week in, week out at this kid’s age? How about Sam Walker? There haven’t been that many young halves that have walked into top grade and looked at home. Langer is the only one that comes to mind – he was just a freak from his first Origin game. How was Reynolds going at this kid’s age week in week out? “As for Mitchell and Walker stepping up, they just haven’t delivered. Mitchell hasn’t looked like justifying his high price tag in the 30-odd games he’s played over the past two seasons, and often looks disinterested, while Walker is too often distracted by the massive chip on his shoulder.” So this is Solly’s fault, too? What about the unhappy coaches and players? It wasn’t that long ago that Latrell was going to potentially be NSW’s saviour in 2023. Walker ended up doing in SOO what Panther’s 6 couldn’t. So is capitulation at Souths in the backend of 2023 Solly’s fault, too? If so, do he get credit for getting Souths to the finals in all recent times with and without Reynolds? Well at least last year, then if you disagree? Where is his credit and foresight there? Because how many games has Reynolds missed since he has been at the Broncos? How hard is he training or is he on light duties? If Reynolds was playing for Souths with a lazy Mitchell and out of sorts Walker, he would have had to have been doing plenty more per game and likelihood of injury then rises dramatically. Solly would have then been a goose for keeping a broken down Reynolds had he have broken down. Souths made a business decision that didn’t seem that bad at the time. Wayne Bennett has made a career out of cutting players a year or two short. Not many others have been proven as correct or fortunate, lucky in hindsight. There is a real reason for that.

Well Panthers are going down this time. NOTHING lasts for long..Its not 100 years

Agree with you about the pack generally, but not with regard to Haas. In 2021 he was ridiculously consistent and played all three origin games. He was the Paul Morgan club player of the year and the Gary Balkin player’s player of the year. And Dally M prop of the year. And received the Shane Webke forward of the year. He also won the Wally Lewis award for Play of the Year. And the Julian O’Neil award for the biggest fine issued by the NRL of the year of $50k for intimidating police. He has of course remained amazing since then, but he hasn’t replicated 2021.

I'm guessing it would be fairly common to offer older players the sort of deal the Bunnies offered him. It's also fairly common for another club to offer a better deal and hope it works out like the Broncos have. The Bunnies were offering Johnson to other clubs a few years back , I'm pretty sure but he stayed and proved his worth. Reynolds made the right choice it seems certain but he could have stayed and proven them wrong like Johnson did.

Pre Reynolds arrival, I think he was playing good but not great football and wasn't doing it consistently. I think having a guy like Reynolds around to drive him and the rest of pack has made the entire forward group better. The grunts in front will work harder if they know a bloke like Reynolds will help the team capitalize on their efforts.

Haas was already one of the best props in the game before Reynolds arrived.

Reynolds got offered a one year deal with a one year option in favour of the club. So in reality - a one year deal. If he had got injured the club would have refused the option and haggled him down lower the following year. Or he would have to go onto the open market as an injured player over the age of 30. It wasn’t the type of offer you make to a player that you actually want to keep.

Might be the wake up call they needed in the same way last year was for the Broncos. I think Illias needs a huge shake up and I can't see him ever being the leader they need. Latrell quickly becoming the most overpaid bloke in the comp now TPJ and Luke Thompson are off haha