Titans playmaker Lachlan Ilias‘ future has been plunged into fresh uncertainty, following comments from coach Josh Hannay about his halves replacement at the Gold Coast. Hannay dropped a selection bombshell for the Titans’ Round 10 clash with the Roosters after axing Ilias and naming young gun Zane Harrison to make his NRL debut in the No.7 jumper on Saturday night.
The shake-up comes in the wake of Gold Coast’s 28-12 defeat to the Raiders in Round 9, in which Ilias and halves partner Jayden Campbell once again failed to get the Titans’ attack clicking. It continued a poor run of form for Hannay’s side, who’ve slumped to six defeats in eight games and have the third-worst attack in the competition – with only the Dragons and Bulldogs scoring fewer points.
Titans playmaker Lachlan Ilias (R, centre) has been axed by coach Josh Hannay (L) in the latest brutal blow to his tumultuous NRL career. Pic: Getty
And Hannay has responded by dropping Ilias from his 19-man squad and naming him amongst the reserves in the No.20 jersey. It’s another brutal setback in a tumultuous NRL career for the young playmaker, who has now been axed from a starting halves role at three different clubs.
Ilias moved to the Dragons before the beginning of last season after being dumped as the first-choice No.7 at Souths. But things didn’t work out for him at the Dragons either, with former coach Shane Flanagan dropping him to reserve grade just seven games into the 2025 season.
The halfback was granted a release from the final year of his Dragons contract after insisting he wasn’t given a fair crack. But after being offered a lifeline by Hannay at the Titans, Ilias has once found himself in an unfortunately all too familiar position.
“We’ll just continue to work with Lachie, he’s been wonderful for us,” Hannay said. “He’s really held his gloves up all year, we had a really good discussion about why I’ve made this decision during the week. (He) handled it like an absolute pro. He was really happy for Zane.”
Zane Harrison set for extended run at No.7 for Titans
Ilias has sought clarity from Hannay about how he can cement a starting role as an NRL half. But it could be some time before he gets another shot after the Gold Coast coach said he was keen to give 20-year-old Harrison an extended run in the starting side after naming him at halfback and shifting Campbell to five-eighth.
“This game has a history of putting a lot of expectation on the next big thing, if you want to call them that,” Hannay said. There will be external pressure, but I do feel like it’s my job and our job to make him understand that there’s no internal pressure. He doesn’t need to see this game as a one-and-done type of situation where he needs to go out and show it all in one game. He’ll be up here with us now for a little while.”
Zane Harrison is set to make his NRL debut at halfback for the Titans after the 20-year-old impressed during pre-season. Pic: Getty
(Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images)
Harrison has been in the Titans system since he was 15 and completed his first NRL pre-season while still in high school. The 20-year-old was impressive during the trials for Gold Coast earlier this year and Hannay said it was only a matter of time before he earned an NRL debut.
“I could’ve easily been comfortable giving him an opportunity sooner,” Hannay said ahead of Friday night’s game. “This decision to play him isn’t a reactive one based on the performance last week.”
with AAP