Beleaguered halfback Lachlan Ilias has impressed in his first game since being dropped from South Sydney's NRL side.
Ilias appeared unfazed by the week of scrutiny on himself and the Rabbitohs as a whole as he helped the club's NSW Cup side to a 28-12 defeat of the Sydney Roosters on Friday night.
Criticised for failing to spark the first-grade side's attack, Ilias set up the Rabbitohs' first try inside seven minutes with a cut-out pass to Izaac Thompson on the right edge.
Ilias came up with two try-saving tackles in the opening half, first taking out Salesi Foketi's legs as the Roosters lock charged through the middle at close range.
In the shadows of halftime, Ilias made a try-saving one-on-one tackle on Alex Young, brother of Roosters NRL star Dom, to ensure Souths would take a 16-0 lead into the sheds.
He nailed a sideline conversion after Richie Kennar scored Souths' second and forced a dropout up the other end of the field after his first try-saving tackle.
It was a less polished second half all round for the Rabbitohs, with the Roosters nabbing two late tries to put some respectability on the scoreboard.
