The situation is bad. That means that we appear to have no really good choices, altho, who knows, maybe Flanno has someone in mind. So the goal is to keep trying to get a quality 2026 half while at the same time trying to stop 2025 being a disaster that sends us back below 12 wins and damages the club's morale.
I guess the best choice is Kyle + Douehi with LKT as cover for both. Douehi is a good footballer with an injury history. But he came back last year and at 350k is cheap. If these three can make it through 2025 healthy, then it is a big step forward in developing LKT while a healthy Douehi is a genuine utility player who is worth keeping.
If Douehi blows another knee, 5/8 will be LKT and Gutho. Yeh, that is bad.
As for Ilias, you can visit the Souths forum and see what they think. They do not rate him.
And I have not mentioned Sexton bcs he won't leave the dogs unless Hunt goes there.