Wayne Bennett's telling comment Latrell Mitchell might 'have to leave' South Sydney Rabbitohs

Wayne Bennett has vowed to help Latrell Mitchell get back on track when he returns as coach of South Sydney in 2025, but just a few months ago he made a very telling comment that one of the "might have to leave" the club if they can't work together. 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". South Sydney are also expected to sanction the star fullback and he'll meet with the board this week after responding to the breach notice.

The board will reportedly demand Mitchell agree to new behavioural clauses in his contrast in an attempt to deter him from stepping out of line again. Mitchell won't play again in 2024 and will have to serve his suspension at the start of next season - a big blow for incoming coach Bennett.

Speaking 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 master-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."

Wayne Bennett won't let Latrell Mitchell off easy

However the seemingly throwaway line paints a grim picture for Mitchell and shows Bennett won't accept anything below the highest standard. And he said as much last week when discussing Mitchell again.

"Most businesses in Australia would fail if they were under the scrutiny we are under. We are under an enormous amount of scrutiny," Bennett said. "That doesn't give us the reason to do what is not right. The reality is that if you decide to coach in the NRL, if you decide to play in the NRL or be an official in the NRL, you are under different rules to everyone else in society.

"If you can't handle that, then don't do the job. Go and be a part of society, otherwise you will be under scrutiny and you have to learn to live with it and change your behaviour. It is as simple as that."

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Should Latrell Mitchell consider changing NRL teams?

Bennett recruited Mitchell to Souths in 2020 when he was first at the Rabbitohs as coach, and is the driver behind his move from centre to fullback. The positional switch hasn't exactly worked out, with many of the belief Mitchell doesn't do enough work to be a top-line fullback.

There's hope Bennett's return to Souths will get him back to his best, but according to leading journalist Phil Rothfield, a change of clubs might actually be better. "He struggles to cope with being in the spotlight so regularly in the NRL as the superstar of the game,” Rothfield said on the Sky Sports radio on Monday.

“I started thinking about this new franchise, the Western Bears in Perth, and I don’t know if he wants to uproot his family, he loves Taree, he loves Souths. But I just tend to think to join a club to get away from the media, he could walk down the main street of Perth and most people wouldn’t know who he was. He could just have a more relaxed (life)... I don’t know.”