After two tough weeks to start the year, the winds of change were blowing at South Sydney - and coach Jason Demetriou has acquiesced, dropping young halfback Lachlan Ilias to reserve grade.
The reaction to Ilias' dropping, in some places, has been strange to say the least. Most people who'd watched Souths across the back half of last year and the first two weeks of this season would agree that things had grown stagnant, and that a change needed to be made.
But as soon as it was, some that were calling for said change pivoted on a dime, framing the decision as Souths hitting a panic button, or even the dreaded tag of a 'club in crisis'.
None of this makes any sense. It was obvious to anyone watching the Bunnies that a change needed to be made. And it was equally obvious where it was going to be, with the NSW Cup player of the year Dean Hawkins more than deserving of a chance at the top level.
The only question was whether Demetriou, a passionate defender of Ilias at all times, could do what needed to be done.
For better or worse, Demetriou's tenure at the Rabbitohs to date is tethered to his young halfback. Both came into their role at the same time, having understudied Wayne Bennett and Adam Reynolds respectively, and had big shoes to fill.
You could argue that no young half in recent history was put into a better position to succeed than Ilias. Surrounded by stars, clear structures in place, and a roster capable of challenging for a title.
His rookie season was solid enough. Not too much was expected other than to facilitate play and defend well. On top of that, when he was sensationally hooked mid-game in a loss to the Dragons he responded by playing well down the stretch as Souths won seven of their remaining ten regular season games, and two finals to boot.
The semi-final victory against the Sharks, in particular, was one of the halfback's best showings in first grade.
But concerns became problems as 2023 progressed, and the second-year man didn't elevate his game beyond what he showed as a rookie. Fans became frustrated with the entire team, which had, seemingly overnight, become stale and predictable.
I found it odd that so much of the recent fallout came to the conclusion that Ilias had been 'scapegoated'. Shuffling a couple of forwards around doesn't move the needle, and no sane person would ever drop Cody Walker, Damien Cook, or Latrell Mitchell. There was only one big move Demetriou could make.
Comparisons between Ilias and Luke Brooks were, to me, equally strange. Brooks was thrown into the deep end at an early age, given gaudy comparisons to people like Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer, and expected to deliver the Wests Tigers a premiership almost on his own (especially after the departures of James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses).
The situation at Souths during Ilias' first season in the No.7 jersey could not have been more different. Reynolds left after the 2021 grand final, but 13 of the 17 that played that day remained with the club for 2022 - including the rest of the spine, all of whom are NSW Origin and/or Australian representative players.
Plenty of young halves who've turned into great players have been dropped early on in their career - and Ilias has plenty of time to right the ship. He responded well the last time he faced adversity in his professional career and there's no reason to think he can't do it again.
In a week where former player Josh Mansour lashed Demetriou on a podcast for a perceived inability to have tough conversations and make tough decisions, the coach has made the toughest decision of his Rabbitohs tenure to date - and shouldn't be harangued for it.
It's naive to think that dropping Ilias is a magic wand that will fix Souths' issues. But Hawkins will give them an extra creative outlet in a team that sorely needs it right now, and when you couple that with the impending debut of big off-season recruit Jack Wighton, it may just be enough of a spark to get them over the line against their arch-rivals.