Adam Doueihi has delivered South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold one hell of a selection headache.
With first-choice halfback Adam Reynolds back from a knee injury as early as their round five NRL clash with St George Illawarra in a little under a fortnight, Seibold has a quandary on his hands about what to do with his rookie No.7.
In just his second first grade game, Doueihi was instrumental in the Bunnies' first win of the year - a 34-6 upset of Manly at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
By Seibold's own admission, he will have a hard time omitting Doueihi after he pulled the strings in their boilover against the Sea Eagles.
Seibold said Doueihi, who exploded onto the scene playing for Lebanon in the World Cup, had demonstrated his utility value and shaped as a potential No.14.
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"If you look at the World Cup, he played left centre for Lebanon and did a really good job," Seibold said.
"It's not as if he was playing mugs - he played against Australia and England, played against Tonga as well. He had some really good experiences there.
"He's a pretty big kid for a half. I imagine he can play multiple conditions, he's a good guy to have in our group."
For the first three weeks Seibold has preferred a four-forward bench rotation, leaving out Robbie Farah, but Doueihi's emergence could cause a re-think.
And if he keeps on improving, there's no reason he can't start putting pressure on Reynolds and Cody Walker.
Five-eighth Walker was full of praise for Doueihi and welcomed the competition of having a third half vying for a starting spot.
"I think everyone saw what he could do in the World Cup," Walker said.
"He's a very level-headed kid, he's pretty confident so nothing really fazes him. He's had a good pre-season. As we've seen tonight, he really controlled the game."
Asked if he was surprised by the manner in which Doueihi had hit the ground running, Walker said: "We knew he was a great prospect, he was with us in the pre-season last year.
"He just knew he had to bide his time and he's done that he's shown what a great talent he is."
