Reynolds downplays shoulder injury

South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds expects the Rabbitohs to "dump" the nail-biting loss to Melbourne and move quickly onto next weekend's elimination semi-final, but it won't be so easy to rid himself of a tender right shoulder.

The 28-year-old needed a pain-killing injection at halftime in the 29-28 win by Melbourne at AAMI Park to see out the match.

Reynolds is a vital cog in coach Anthony Seibold's attack. He set up two of Souths' five tries with kicks on Friday night and has been their first-choice goal-kicker for the past seven seasons.

When he cradled his right arm after a solid hit from Storm back-rower Felise Kaufusi late in the first half he wasn't able to take the conversion of Greg Inglis's 36th-minute try.

Centre Dane Gagai stepped up to take the kick but his wobbly attempt never looked like going over.

Post-match Reynolds said he would consult Rabbitohs medical staff once back in Sydney on Saturday to see if he should get a scan on the joint.

"Just copped a whack, the shoulder is a bit sore there but I got through the second half alright," Reynolds said.

"It just felt like something happened in there … I'm not too sure. The doctor said it was alright to go back out there."

Aided by a needle and strapping, Reynolds completed the match, but it leaves eight days for him to get it right before the likes of the Broncos or Dragons forwards aim up on the shoulder.

The Rabbitohs face the winner of Sunday's match.

Storm back-rower Christian Welch also sacked Reynolds in a heavy tackle just minutes after Kaufusi got him, underlying the perilous nature of halves in finals.

"Christian Welch did add to it but it's a game of football," Reynolds said.

"You cop the bumps and bruises and move on."

Reynolds hasn't aggravated a previous injury and is confident a solid week's work with the Souths physios will have him in good shape to play next weekend.

Reynolds received a penalty when Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr collected him around the hips while he was still in the air after a kick.

"A couple [tackles] were a bit dangerous and I thought they could go either way," he said.

Reynolds praised Melbourne's relentlessness and their ability to apply pressure.

"They're the premiers from last year – they've got class all over the field," he said.

"You can never switch off and we just didn't respect the ball and they were pretty clinical in the end.

"But we'll review the game and then we'll dump it. We've got an important game next week so we can't dwell on it too much.

"We were good in patches … I'm excited for next week. We've got a great playing group and it's another chance to go out there and work on our game. We've got a good game model but we just weren't good enough tonight."

While there will be some sore bodies for a few days, Souths won't have to travel next weekend as they will host Broncos or Dragons at ANZ Stadium.