'NRL had different plans': Latrell's partner upset as Souths star misses a third Grand Final

Absolutely 100% agree..

Yes Phil,someone from Souths or NRL should have a word to her that there are consequences for his actions..If you break someone's cheek with such force that it was equivalent to a car accident facial injury and he had loading well sorry he has to miss games..If the boot was on the other foot would she still think this way...But has he learnt from his mistakes,I guess we'll see..

Mushi thanks but no thanks in a system (NRL HQ) that is trying to speed up the game and to do so has continually adjusted the rule which I would say has also had a corresponding increase in charges relating to high tackles or similar to, then why has the brains trust at NRL introduced a rule that would really protect players from head and neck injury by rewarding players who have the ability to tackle around the legs by simply allowing a player who makes a legs tackle time to get to marker. The answer is simple it is not good TV and the average punter loves the big hits that’s what made SOO so popular blokes smashing the you know what out of each other but the risk is the occasional high shot be it deliberate or accidental. NRL are as if not more responsible for these high shots because of the way they have framed the rules and t he way they have the referees interpret them. Yet is only the players who get suspended through a NRL controlled judicial system. Why are the referees not loaded for making repeated errors in judgement in the intensity of a game; because they wouldn’t stand for it and as a league supporter I had a enough of media manipulation of the game to increase ratings. I mean I worry that in the not to distant future we will end up with a cross between touch football and wrestling. Either reward low tackles as being a dominant tackle or get rid of loading for high ones you can’t have it both ways.

Maybe we should ask Manu's partner , wife , girlfriend how she feels about the incident .

Sadly,she is another Latrell enabler. He will never change,when he is surrounded by people, that love to reinforce his victim hood mentality,when he does the wrong thing. Yes,he needs love and support.But,he also needs the tough love,of accepting responsibility for the mistakes he has made. Her comments,are unsurprising though.It takes a partner with guts,to tell their other half,what they need to hear,not what they want to hear.Of course she could of and should of,done this all privately. This post from his partner is embarrassing,it reminds me when Ben Hunt's wife was on-line sticking up for Ben after his shockers.Though,it was more about wanting people,to stop picking on Benny.I wish footy players partners,would just stay out of all this,it makes them all look worse.

It's newsworthy because we punters are reading the articles and making comments. If peanut butter on a slice of toast looks like Jesus , it's only newsworthy because people click on the article.

If the Chooks made the GF , Manu would be watching up in the stand with a strawberry milkshake. Mitchell is in a select club of players who think they are above the law. The bottom line in all this and way above title wins is the welfare of the players these entitled bullies are injuring. How happy would Mitchells partner be if he was assaulted and badly injured by an opponent?

While I agree some of the players need to adjust their attitude, to say the NRL judicial system doesn’t need an overhaul is frankly, ludicrous. The judiciary is a joke, & not a good or very funny one. Their has been many, many “head scratching” decisions made by the judiciary that are just unfathomable, & it lacks any semblance of consistency.

I agree with most of that, I still can't believe the suspensions Ravalawa copped for kind of almost shoulder charges (and one definitely non-shoulder charge. And then the magic round fiasco followed by some matches here and there playing under crackdown rules whilst other games played 60's rules for high shots. And then different players from same team get different treatment from MRC- Radley & I think it was Collins or Butcher copped harsh suspensions whilst JWH continually avoids copping anything more than Uncle Nick's pocket change. It's like the bunker, you never know what they'll come up with.

The fact his missus posted this strongly suggests he has the same opinion, therefore he's learnt nothing. For him it's not "I better clean up my act, not only smashed my old teammates face but possibly missed a GF due to it", it's "the NRL don't want me playing, nothing in it". Pretty presumptuous to say he's missing a GF due to suspension; they are completely different with Taaffe at FB; he obviously doesn't have Latrells potency near the line but his positioning, defence and safety under the high ball are all much better and suit finals footy. There were stats I saw earlier in the year where Latrell was below even Dufty for defensive and positioning errors, flip side is they were both right up there for try assists and tries but Taaffe has speed and ball playing enough to go with doing all the other stuff right to arguably make Souths a better team. I reckon Latrell is the best centre in the game but a bit of a liability at fullback unless his team is on the opposition 20.

As a Bunnies fan, would love Trell to be running out on Sunday. This has to be bittersweet for him but glad he still with the squad helping out etc…If this week and missing out on a Grand Final doesn’t change his ways nothing will.

There already is a benefit to taking the guilty plea. Having loading also removed is effectively not having loading at all given most take the early mark except around finals.

This summary will have to do me – I cannot type while I sob so for poor victim ‘trellie, the game is so unkind to him. :stoked: :silly: :laughing:

I don’t and won’t argue that players have to adjust. This is an increasingly difficult task with constant rule changes and varying interpretations from NRL for example the Harry Grant crusher tackle, Edwards backs into the tackle and sits down putting himself in a dangerous position deliberately as have countless others this year full well knowing they will earn a penalty and the opposition player will be reported, yet all responsibility is on the defender is this not also player attitude that the are willing to risk injury for a penalty and potentially a free interchange. I am simply suggesting that if you do the crime admit your guilt with no argument and do the the time loading is not applied if you challenge and are still found guilty then apply the loading as it currently is. I don’t have the stats as to how many players take the early plea but this saves the NRL a huge amount of time and effort and should be better acknowledged. While we are discussing player attitudes to the great game how about players staying down apparently injured having a medical report done post game by an independent non affiliated Doctor and it no injury that player is suspended if suspension is about player attitude not a failing system that is no longer fit for purpose. “All they have to do is stick to the rules, play clean, play tough and no problem” except every single week conjecture runs rampant over who got suspended for whatever and why that player didn’t for almost identical offences ie how come Munster not charged he made contact with the head and neck yet no charge. All the NRL has to do is apply the rules equally and judge each incident on its merits to apportion punishment not what will be as it seems to especially around big games what will be best for TV ratings or media stories.

It's not the system that needs overhauling, it's the players' attitudes. All they have to do is stick to the rules, play clean, play tough and no problem. The players make it hard for themselves with prior offences, hence the loading which I think is fair enough. Mitchell brought it all on himself with his me first, team second attitude. Like the system or not, it is the players that contribute to the very fact the judiciary exists.

The system is broken not just in this instance but a cross the board. IMO players whom accept the early plea and serve the punishment should not have loading its effectively punishing the player twice for the one offence. To clarify I’m not saying LM should not have been suspended. If a player and club are brave enough to go to this kangaroo court and are unsuccessful then they cop the loading on top of the loading to turn what some might agree is a two, three or four week suspension into god knows what. The roulette wheel that the NRL judiciary has become is a blight that needs serious overhauling. As it seems to me that they effectively grab 3 darts walk into a room turn off the lights and throw the darts at a board and take the average of the three as the suspension then analyse video to justify the suspension, it seems totally random to me and that undermines the system and it’s legitimacy. I don’t like that the MRC seek an injury report from the opposing club, I mean who knows what injury’s some players carry into games and in some not all that the existing injuries haven’t contributed and potentially made it a worse injury, if the MRC are using a post match injury report maybe clubs should have to provide to the NRL pre match medical reports to compare before grading an offence. I’m sure it is not just partners/families of players but supporters and club officials ( who are more than likely gagged by the NRL ) as well who are feed up with this system as it stands. I also think it time to get the QC’s out of the system they love to make the black and white of the issue as grey as possible.

I was a fan of Latrells up until this year when the nasty side of him came to the surface. For some time there I was hoping he would become the next big thing in RL with the natural talent he has. However, as time passed the ugly side of his game came out more and more. His attitude in that game when he smashed Manu was terrible especially when he threw the ball down after scoring a try. Wayne Bennett, as good a man manager as he is, failed on that occasion in not curbing Latrell's aggression. As for the missus, it's a case of standing by your man, but even she should see that he deserves the suspension.

No mate, it's not just you. You can understand a player's wife/girlfriend standing by him but in this case she would have been better off keeping quiet considering the damage Mitchell inflicted on Manu in an illegal manner.

To be fair, a player's wife's social media posts really shouldnt be news.

I guess I just don't understand the world anymore. While I find the premise that Mitchell should be free to play in the grand final ludicrous, it's totally understandable and probably quite normal for his partner to have the opposite opinion. I just can't understand for the life of me why the instagram comments of a player's partner considered newsworthy? Is it just me?