South Sydney fans may have got a glimpse of the near future when Luke Keary stepped on the paddock in the 65th minute against Parramatta and helped lay an immediate platform for the Rabbitohs win.
With Souths leading 16-12 at Pirtek Stadium and the round 19 Rise for Alex fixture still in the balance, Keary laid on the Rabbitohs third try of the night with his first touch of the Steeden to set the visitors on course for their 32-12 victory.
With Adam Reynolds sidelined and Keary partnering John Sutton in the halves the Bunnies piled on 16 points in the last 15 minutes.
Rumour has it Reynolds is under some pressure at Redfern and Keary's effort will only add fuel to that speculation.
"He (Keary) came on and provided a lot of energy and provided some great play for us so I have a great blend with the three boys," Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire said.
"I have some great combinations to move forward with.
"I'm pretty open with John we have some good discussions about how we want to move forward with the team.
"With John at six he provides a real steadiness with how we are as a team.
"The forwards feed off him moving forward and we have had a lot of success with him at six.
"So we have got opportunities where we can push him into the back-row if need be.
"But at the moment I am pretty comfortable with how Sutton is playing at six and obviously with Adam and Luke there it provides us with some good options."
Maguire had planned to play Reynolds and Keary in the halves this year but a pre-season injury at the Auckland Nines to Keary put paid to that.
Keary played his first NRL game of the year in the Rabbitohs poor round 17 loss to the Titans. But the bye weekend gave Souths plenty of time to work on their combinations.
"I thought he (Luke) brought some extra spark to the team, we did wear them down and he provided that spark and a pinpoint kick," Sutton said.
"We just have to keep evolving with those combinations."
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