The South Sydney Rabbitohs have reportedly given Lachlan Ilias permission to negotiate with rivals clubs.
The latest move from the South Sydney brass is a step towards Ilias signing his exit from the club where he was dropped in the opening rounds of the 2024 season.
Ilias, who has struggled to make the halfback role his own at the now bottom of the table club, was made the scapegoat for a horrendous start to the season which hasn't improved since.
The halfback then was injured in the NSW Cup, with a broken leg leaving him unlikely to return this season while replacement Dean Hawkins struggles to improve on Ilias' efforts at NRL level.
Now, News Corp are reporting Ilias has been given permission to make his exit from Redfern.
The move, should it prove true, is an unsurprising turn of events given reports over the weekend suggested the Rabbitohs have now signed English half Lewis Dodd, putting both Ilias and Hawkins on potentially borrowed time at Redfern.
It's understood manager Braith Anasta formerly requested permission to negotiate with rival clubs on Monday, and it has almost immediately been granted by the club with the Rabbitohs now happy to move Ilias on.
No formal request for a release has been granted, and is unlikely to be until rival clubs make a play for Ilias.
It's unclear at this stage whether any club would take Ilias on before the end of 2024 given his injury, however, a number of clubs could be in the market for a half.
Journalist Michelle Bishop has already suggested the Canterbury Bulldogs will show interest in Ilias.
โI did inquire with a few clubs and there were some suggestions over the weekend that the Bulldogs were keen on him but at the moment that is not the case, they are not looking at Lachie Ilias," Bishop said on SEN Radio's Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.
