- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Latrell Mitchell admits he’s burning inside about missing South Sydney’s huge grudge match with the Sydney Roosters because of a “brain-snap” suspension.
Mitchell may have played his last game of the NRL season after the Rabbitohs opted against fighting his one-match ban for elbowing Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell.
The Rabbitohs, who have the bye in round 26, take on the Roosters in the final game of the regular season in what is shaping as a winner-takes-all clash for a spot in the top eight.
Souths will be without the superstar fullback with their finals hopes on the line next Friday after the club chose to take an early guilty plea.
Mitchell was charged with a grade-two dangerous contact charge following Sunday’s loss to the Knights and would have risked a two-week suspension if he had fought the charge and lost.
The 26-year-old says he’s shattered at not being available to square off with the Roosters, whom he helped win back-to-back premierships in 2018-19 before defecting to Souths.
The clubs already enjoy the fiercest rivalry in the league and the animosity has only grown since Mitchell was banned in 2021 for breaking Joey Manu’s cheekbone.
The hostility has never been more evident than in last year’s finals series when the Rabbitohs famously ended the Roosters’ 2022 season in an explosive showdown featuring a record seven sin bins.
“It’s what people buy tickets for, to see. I put bums on seats and that’s just the game that everyone wants to come and watch,” Mitchell told Nine News on Tuesday.
“We go back to that ‘Sin-Bin Sunday’. That was just a game that you want to be a part of and everyone wants to watch and it just burns me that I can’t be there to play that game.
“I’m disappointed. Not only because (I’m missing) the game but also in myself. I’ve worked really hard to get this stuff out of my game – them brain snaps.
“I’ve tried to mature a lot and I haven’t had an incident since ’21 – that incident with Joey Manu.
“So I’ve worked really hard to getting back to playing footy and enjoying it and getting that stuff out of it, the grubby stuff.”
Mitchell will only play again this year if the eighth-placed Rabbitohs make the finals.
His latest ban follows a frustrating pattern for the State of Origin and Test star, whose performances have come under the microscope with South Sydney’s late season implosion.
Mitchell has been sin-binned nine times across his career – the joint-most of any player in the NRL alongside Victor Radley – and his efforts in defence and attack have been heavily criticised following the loss to Newcastle.
He hadn’t helped his case after he was spotted downing beers on stage with country singer Luke Coombs in Sydney in the days leading up to the Knights defeat.
Mitchell missed nearly two months of action this season due to a calf injury and the Rabbitohs’ record since he returned to the side reads 2-2.
Jason Demetriou described Mitchell’s elbow as “silly” and the Souths coach will have to turn to Blake Taaffe to fill the void at fullback for a potential showdown for the top eight with the Roosters.
The Tricolours must beat the lowly Wests Tigers on Saturday to ensure they keep their finals dream alive and they will be growing in confidence with three straight wins in as many weeks.
© AAP
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.