South Sydney rejected in Latrell Mitchell injury backflip as superstar cops Wayne Bennett truth bomb
South Sydney's push for their superstar to serve his ban this year has backfired.
The NRL has reportedly rejected South Sydney's bid to have Latrell Mitchell serve his one-game suspension in round 27 after the fullback was warned he could be pulled into line by incoming coach Wayne Bennett. South Sydney was copping it from fans this week having launched the paperwork to prove Mitchell's fitness in order for him to serve his one-game suspension against the Roosters.
Frustration followed coach Ben Hornby's initial claim Mitchell had been ruled out for the season after a foot fracture, before backtracking on his comments. This comes after Mitchell copped a one-game ban and a $20,000 fine from the NRL after bringing the game into disrepute following the photo leak scandal.
Mitchell was expected to sit out and serve his one-game suspension at the beginning of the 2025 campaign. South Sydney then attempted to prove Mitchell's fitness after the 27-year-old met with specialists on Monday and Tuesday, according to Newscorp.
The Rabbitohs were waiting to hear back from the NRL on whether he can serve his suspension in the final regular game of the season. However, reports on Wednesday afternoon claimed the NRL rejected South Sydney's bid and Mitchell would serve the ban at the start of the 2025 season. This will see him miss the first game under coach Bennett to start the season.
Before the NRL had made their decision, Broncos great Gorden Tallis and reporter Paul Crawley weighed-in on the controversy. Tallis pointed out even if he had recovered from his foot fracture, the fullback was probably not fit enough to play and shouldn't be able to named.
“Normally if you’re fit enough to play you’ve got to train for a couple of weeks,” Tallis said on NRL 360. Crawley claimed if Mitchell played it would be making a mockery of the suspension. “He’s sitting on the bike laughing, having a great time. Where’s the lesson?" he said.
"It’s an absolute gee-up that this was allowed to happen, that the NRL allowed it, that Souths wanted to do it. They keep threatening... a $100,000 fine but $80,000 of it suspended... it’s like threatening the kids all the time ‘I’m going to take the mobile phone’ but they never do.”
Damien Cook backs Latrell Mitchell to prove fitness
While plenty in the NRL world feel Mitchell should serve his ban next year, teammate Damien Cook feels he had the right to prove his fitness. Cook is off to the Dragons next year, but was keen to see Mitchell start fresh in 2025 under coach Bennett.
"It'd be nice to play with him one last time but he'll get that suspension out of the way (against the Roosters) and a fresh start next year," the outgoing No.9 said. Forward Thomas Burgess, who will return to the United Kingdom next year, said it was a shame he couldn't play with Mitchell one last time.
"We'll get him back in the hot box, get him on the cardio," he added. "I was hoping to play with him one last time this weekend. He was ready to go but unfortunately he's got the suspension so I won't be playing with him."
After initially ruling him out for the season, Hornby backtracked last Friday and claimed Mitchell was still an "outside chance" to line-up against the Roosters in a dead-rubber game for the Rabbitohs. “Obviously (he’s) still got a bit of a process there to go through. So he is just trying to tick the boxes," Hornby said.
"There is an outside chance he could play next week if we needed him. He needs to show he is in good enough condition to play a game, that is the main thing. The first thing is to get him out there running.”
Latrell Mitchell warned about Wayne Bennett standards
The Rabbitohs will welcome back master-coach Bennett next year to take control of the club. The Rabbitohs have failed to make the NRL finals for the last two years and Mitchell's recent controversy - that saw him cop a one-game ban - has certainly overshadowed the club's 2024 failures.
And Crawley believes the standards at South Sydney will be taken to a new level under Bennett with the 74-year-old known for his hardline stance when it comes to professionalism. “Latrell’s going to face the music this summer when Wayne Bennett arrives,” Crawley added.
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“Bennett has proven in the past that if he doesn’t think he can win with you, you won’t be staying. While Latrell looks to have gotten off lightly here, the challenge for Wayne this summer is to come in there and change this bloke’s attitude."
Bennett has already addressed the ongoings with Mitchell and said he was looking forward to taking charge of the $1.2 million superstar in 2025. Bennett was in charge of South Sydney when Mitchell signed from the Roosters in 2020. "I'll look forward to it. I will be there for him and I hope I can give them the help that he needs," Bennett said.
"I haven't reached out to him (now). I'm not coaching there at the moment. I am not the coach there. I have responsibilities here. He is in good hands at South Sydney and he is a good person. I have a lot of time for Latrell."
