Young South Sydney Rabbitohs half Luke Keary wasn't big enough for Parramatta Eels Adam Reynolds' unconventional chip for Andrew Everingham makes Peter Sterling believe the Rabbitohs play maker has what it takes to win big matches at the crucial end of the season. Fox Sports is taking you all the way to the finals. Luke Keary has been a revelation for the Rabbitohs. PARRAMATTA fans, are you sitting down? If Luke Keary had had his way as a teenager he would be running out for the Eels this Friday in the wooden spoon shootout with the Wests Tigers. Instead, the kid with the choirboy looks will have to settle for taking over from injured Souths skipper John Sutton when the Rabbitohs tackle the reigning premiers in Melbourne. The sad news for the Eels is that, when Keary was 16, he turned up to trial for Parramatta's Harold Matthews Cup team but was turned away because he was too small. So Keary ended up at Souths instead - and the irony is that, while Parra paid $550,000 a season to pinch Chris Sandow from Souths, they could have had Keary for nothing. Even today there are question marks over his size but, as Nathan Merritt explained: "He's a tough little bugger and he'll keep going for the whole 80 minutes. He's got some skill about him. Which is something they overlooked at Parramatta. New halves partner Adam Reynolds certainly has no doubts about Keary's ability to stand in for the injured skipper. "It's going to be exciting for us having little Luke there," Reynolds said. He's a quality player. I've got a lot of confidence in him. So has everyone at Souths. A product of Oakhill College at Castle Hill, Keary played rugby union at school and then ended up at university on the Gold Coast, where he was spotted playing league for the Burleigh Bears. The following year Keary was back in Sydney and cutting his teeth in the Rabbitohs' 20s. He played two years in the National Youth League and won a spot on the bench for the team of the year in 2012 before he started this year in NSW Cup with North Sydney before his top grade promotion. After five impressive performances coming off the bench for Souths, he now gets his start. He's still not that big but he runs like the wind - and if you've seen any of his games this year you'll note that his speed is his great gift. A little show-and-go and he's gone. Asked if he's up to the challenge of taking on the reigning premiers at their home ground, Merritt said: "I think he'll go quite well. He's a good kid. He listens. He's been playing consistent football all year and it's great to see him get a chance. With Sutton missing there's going to be plenty of pressure on both Keary and Reynolds on Friday night. But Reynolds said the only requirement coach Michael Maguire had put on any player was to do no more than their individual job. This has been the philosophy at Souths ever since Maguire arrived, and injuries to Sutton and Inglis doesn't change that. "There's not much extra pressure," Reynolds said. It comes back to us doing our own job and sticking to the game plan for 80 minutes. We didn't do that against the Cowboys and it definitely showed on the scoreboard. As disappointing as Souths were in last week's loss to the Cowboys, no one tried harder than the halfback. Reynolds can't wait to line up against Cooper Cronk on Friday night. When Reynolds was forced to sit out the 2011 season with a knee injury he spent his time studying the games of the very best NRL halves. Most of that time, he said, was spent watching video of the Storm No. Reynolds' eyes lit up on Tuesday at the mention of Cronk's name: "I definitely admire him. He's the best half in the game - him and Thurston. Just to be playing on the same field as them is an honour - and a challenge that I always love having.