Souths blocked from making Latrell Mitchell contract change as NRL greats divided on ugly saga
The fullback will reportedly be asked to agree to new clauses in his $1.2 million-per-season contract.
Lawyer Lee Hagipantelis has claimed it won't be as simple as just inserting a new behavioural clause in Latrell Mitchell's contract after Sharks legend Paul Gallen and NRL supremo Phil Gould clashed over the saga. Mitchell is facing a one-game suspension and fine from the NRL after a photo emerged of him hunched over a table containing what appears to be a white powder.
There's no suggestion Mitchell has done anything illegal, but the NRL has handed him a breach notice for "bringing the game into disrepute". Unfortunately, the superstar fullback has only played 11 games in 2024 due to injuries and suspension and won't return again this year.
This isn't the first time Mitchell has found himself surrounded in controversy at the club. And the South Sydney board will reportedly demand Mitchell agree to new behavioural clauses in his contract in an attempt to deter him from stepping out of line again.
Although it may not be as simple as first thought for the club. Principal at Brydens Lawyers and former Wests Tigers CEO Hagipantelis believes South Sydney don't have the power to alter Mitchell's contract without his consent. When asked on SEN Radio, Hagipantelis said Mitchell would have to agree with the terms because the club does not have legal rights to just change the contract.
“The short answer is no,” Hagipatnelis said when asked about the legal right they had to make amendments. “The standard NRL playing contract provides the usual clauses surrounding the behaviour of the player and bringing the club or game in disrepute.
“The club can fine a player no more than one quarter of the match playing fee. It does not provide that the club has the authority or power to mend the terms of the contract. It is available by agreement but a contract can’t be altered unilaterally. Latrell Mitchell would have to consent to a new employment agreement.”
Paul Gallen calls out the Rabbitohs amid Latrell saga
Despite reports surrounding how South Sydney will handle the next step in the controversy, former Blues captain Gallen has accused the Rabbitohs for not coming down hard enough on Mitchell in the past. The former Sharks forward said it was 'rich' for the club to make a stand now and said the $1.2 million superstar has never been properly 'pulled up' during his time at the Rabbitohs.
"Latrell behaves the way Latrell behaves, because he's allowed to behave like that. The club never pull him up. Has anyone at the club ever pulled him in, sat him down, and said you can't do these things, you can't do certain things, you're not doing the right things by yourself, you're not doing the right things by the club?" Gallen said on 100% Footy on Channel Nine.
"I'm not having a go at anything with that photo and what's happened there. My issue is, I feel it's a bit rich for Souths to come in and try and discipline him now when they've allowed him to behave like this constantly, over and over and over, year after year and never pulled him up. I think the way he behaves is partly their fault because they've allowed it to happen."
Phil Gould says Latrell Mitchell to blame, not Souths
While Gallen took aim at the Rabbitohs, NRL supremo Gould claimed Mitchell had let himself down. Gould also didn't want to hear the 'cop out' claim that incoming master-coach Wayne Bennett will come in next year and be the solution to all of the Rabbitohs' problems. "Is it too late for him to be a professional athlete that does everything right? 100 per cent it is," Gould added on the show.
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"He doesn't want to do that, I've said that for years. He doesn't want to do that, he wants to be this Latrell, that's what he wants to be and everyone's allowed him to do that, they've allowed him to get away with it."
Only last week, Bennett vowed to support Mitchell and work to get him back to his best in 2025, but that came after he dropped a very eye-opening comment in May. Speaking to the media after agreeing to re-join the Rabbitohs on a three-year deal, the coach said: “If there ends up being a problem, one of us will have to leave." Bennett qualified his comment by adding: "But I don’t expect any issues. I’m not going back to Souths because I dislike anyone. I know the people there."
