Souths star suffers new injury, out of Indigenous clash
The NRL's most prominent Indigenous superstar failed to train at 16th-placed Souths' final session for Saturday's clash with Parramatta, but could return next week.
Mitchell suffered the injury in last week's win over Gold Coast and will be replaced at centre by Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, bringing Tyrone Munro onto the wing.
"(Mitchell) is not mobile enough, hopefully next week," said coach Wayne Bennett.
"He played last week and it was Indigenous Round last week as well. We're disappointed he's not playing."
It's a frustrating blow for Mitchell, who had only returned from a quadriceps injury last week.
"You can be sad about it, you can be anything like about it. The bottom line is he's not playing and he's not fit to play. That's it," Bennett said.
Mitchell joins Campbell Graham, Cameron Murray, Keaon Koloamatangi and Tevita Tatola in a star-studded casualty ward, but Souths have Cody Walker back from a hamstring injury.
The veteran participated in light training on Friday and will return from a seven-week lay-off via the bench, while the Eels could have superstar rookie Isaiah Iongi back from a fractured hand.
"He'll have a fitness test tomorrow (on game day) and we'll see how he goes," Parramatta coach Jason Ryles said of his fullback.
Superstar Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston is an outside chance to break the NRL's try-scoring record this weekend, requiring four four-pointers to pass Ken Irvine's mark of 212 tries.
The record has stood since 1973, so long ago that rugby league stalwart Bennett never saw Irvine play, confined to listening to the North Sydney and Manly winger on the radio from his home state in Queensland.
Bennett would not weigh into speculation fans could rush the field when Johnston finally passes Irvine, with Indigenous Round shaping as a fitting occasion for the Koedal Klan Saibai Man.
"That would be special but it's going to be special anyway," Bennett said.
"I don't know (how it'll be celebrated), I want to get him there and we'll worry about the party after."
Souths' only home game at Allianz Stadium for the year comes some two months after the NSW Government formally rejected their push to relocate the majority of home games there from 2026.
The Rabbitohs have been permitted to host at the $828 million Moore Park venue for Indigenous Round, but have been told breaking their contract with Accor Stadium would be too costly for the taxpayer.
The club is intent on keeping up the fight, with Bennett saying the Eels clash and an away game in round 27 would give fans a chance to show how much a move to Souths heartland would mean.
"It'll give everybody a pretty fair indication of what it would mean to the South Sydney supporters," Bennett said.
Latrell Mitchell will miss South Sydney's Indigenous Round home game with a pinched nerve in his back, adding to a season of injury woes at the Rabbitohs.
The NRL's most prominent Indigenous superstar failed to train at 16th-placed Souths' final session for Saturday's clash with Parramatta, but could return next week.
Mitchell suffered the injury in last week's win over Gold Coast and will be replaced at centre by Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, bringing Tyrone Munro onto the wing.
"(Mitchell) is not mobile enough, hopefully next week," said coach Wayne Bennett.
"He played last week and it was Indigenous Round last week as well. We're disappointed he's not playing."
It's a frustrating blow for Mitchell, who had only returned from a quadriceps injury last week.
"You can be sad about it, you can be anything like about it. The bottom line is he's not playing and he's not fit to play. That's it," Bennett said.
Mitchell joins Campbell Graham, Cameron Murray, Keaon Koloamatangi and Tevita Tatola in a star-studded casualty ward, but Souths have Cody Walker back from a hamstring injury.
The veteran participated in light training on Friday and will return from a seven-week lay-off via the bench, while the Eels could have superstar rookie Isaiah Iongi back from a fractured hand.
"He'll have a fitness test tomorrow (on game day) and we'll see how he goes," Parramatta coach Jason Ryles said of his fullback.
Superstar Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston is an outside chance to break the NRL's try-scoring record this weekend, requiring four four-pointers to pass Ken Irvine's mark of 212 tries.
The record has stood since 1973, so long ago that rugby league stalwart Bennett never saw Irvine play, confined to listening to the North Sydney and Manly winger on the radio from his home state in Queensland.
Bennett would not weigh into speculation fans could rush the field when Johnston finally passes Irvine, with Indigenous Round shaping as a fitting occasion for the Koedal Klan Saibai Man.
"That would be special but it's going to be special anyway," Bennett said.
"I don't know (how it'll be celebrated), I want to get him there and we'll worry about the party after."
Souths' only home game at Allianz Stadium for the year comes some two months after the NSW Government formally rejected their push to relocate the majority of home games there from 2026.
The Rabbitohs have been permitted to host at the $828 million Moore Park venue for Indigenous Round, but have been told breaking their contract with Accor Stadium would be too costly for the taxpayer.
The club is intent on keeping up the fight, with Bennett saying the Eels clash and an away game in round 27 would give fans a chance to show how much a move to Souths heartland would mean.
"It'll give everybody a pretty fair indication of what it would mean to the South Sydney supporters," Bennett said.
Latrell Mitchell will miss South Sydney's Indigenous Round home game with a pinched nerve in his back, adding to a season of injury woes at the Rabbitohs.
The NRL's most prominent Indigenous superstar failed to train at 16th-placed Souths' final session for Saturday's clash with Parramatta, but could return next week.
Mitchell suffered the injury in last week's win over Gold Coast and will be replaced at centre by Bayleigh Bentley-Hape, bringing Tyrone Munro onto the wing.
"(Mitchell) is not mobile enough, hopefully next week," said coach Wayne Bennett.
"He played last week and it was Indigenous Round last week as well. We're disappointed he's not playing."
It's a frustrating blow for Mitchell, who had only returned from a quadriceps injury last week.
"You can be sad about it, you can be anything like about it. The bottom line is he's not playing and he's not fit to play. That's it," Bennett said.
Mitchell joins Campbell Graham, Cameron Murray, Keaon Koloamatangi and Tevita Tatola in a star-studded casualty ward, but Souths have Cody Walker back from a hamstring injury.
The veteran participated in light training on Friday and will return from a seven-week lay-off via the bench, while the Eels could have superstar rookie Isaiah Iongi back from a fractured hand.
"He'll have a fitness test tomorrow (on game day) and we'll see how he goes," Parramatta coach Jason Ryles said of his fullback.
Superstar Rabbitohs winger Alex Johnston is an outside chance to break the NRL's try-scoring record this weekend, requiring four four-pointers to pass Ken Irvine's mark of 212 tries.
The record has stood since 1973, so long ago that rugby league stalwart Bennett never saw Irvine play, confined to listening to the North Sydney and Manly winger on the radio from his home state in Queensland.
Bennett would not weigh into speculation fans could rush the field when Johnston finally passes Irvine, with Indigenous Round shaping as a fitting occasion for the Koedal Klan Saibai Man.
"That would be special but it's going to be special anyway," Bennett said.
"I don't know (how it'll be celebrated), I want to get him there and we'll worry about the party after."
Souths' only home game at Allianz Stadium for the year comes some two months after the NSW Government formally rejected their push to relocate the majority of home games there from 2026.
The Rabbitohs have been permitted to host at the $828 million Moore Park venue for Indigenous Round, but have been told breaking their contract with Accor Stadium would be too costly for the taxpayer.
The club is intent on keeping up the fight, with Bennett saying the Eels clash and an away game in round 27 would give fans a chance to show how much a move to Souths heartland would mean.
"It'll give everybody a pretty fair indication of what it would mean to the South Sydney supporters," Bennett said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
5 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Sad situation worsens as ‘painful' sight sparks Daly Cherry-Evans retirement theory
A horror late-season slide has left Daly Cherry-Evans processing a premature Manly end after the club's NRL finals fate was ripped from their hands. A lacklustre 26-12 loss to Wests Tigers on Sunday was the Sea Eagles' fourth straight since a golden-point win over Melbourne seemingly had them on track for finals. Now, after mustering just 34 points in their past 368 minutes of football, Manly must win their remaining three games and hope other results go their way. Captain Cherry-Evans will play his 350th game next week before a reported move to Sydney Roosters next season. But prominent commentator Andrew Voss questioned whether Cherry-Evans will instead sail off into the sunset. 'Post-game today, Daly Cherry-Evans looked like a bloke going to announce his retirement. Never seen it from him before today,' he wrote. 'No body language expert here, but...' He described Cherry-Evans as having a 'painful' look on his face after a pass was knocked on with 20 minutes to go. Fans also lamented the sad situation ahead of what should be a celebration at the end of a difficult year, with Cherry-Evans having been dropped as Queensland captain after the State of Origin opener. 'We're now hoping to make the finals, which is not where you want to be,' Cherry-Evans said after Manly's loss to the Tigers. 'It's just the realisation it's going to be hard to get there ... it's what everyone wanted, not just me. 'I don't know if toll's the right word, but right now there's a bit to process. 'I've been here for so long, part of the club a long time, I've got a lot of love for this place. 'That (finals) is looking really unlikely now ... but as I've done throughout my career, I've dusted myself off and will get ready for next week. 'We just couldn't get the footy gods smiling on us today, but we've got three games and I'd love to see us stop this four-game slide.' Manly coach Anthony Seibold credited Wests Tigers' forward-pack dominance for the performance he labelled 'a massive step back' and 'worst for a long time'. 'And we've got no one coming back to save us,' he said of their injury list, which will now include centre Reuben Garrick (shoulder). 'It doesn't look great ... he said he heard a crack,' Seibold said of Garrick. 'Let's hope it's not too serious.'
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The NRL's boss of football has had a stinker of a year. It might be time for the sin bin
Then there's blatant rule-bending that goes unchecked. Trainers have been running around fields like army generals – barking orders from behind enemy lines, blatantly flouting the rules. It's only when they run through enemy lines, as Panthers trainer Corey Bocking did live in 4K on our television sets, that punishments occur. When challenged with solid evidence that trainers are staying on the field beyond the fourth tackle, which is forbidden, the NRL says it's the responsibility of ground managers to keep them in check. OK, then. That'll have the trainers quaking in their boots. How on earth is the ground manager going to stop trainers from directing players toward the perfect spot for a match-winning field goal? Then, all of a sudden, blistering letters are sent to clubs from HQ warning about the conduct of trainers, even though the problem is years old. Trainers should have had their wings checked after then-Roosters trainer Travis Touma was hit by the ball in the opening minutes of the 2019 grand final, costing the Raiders precious field position, possibly a try, and handing the ball back to the Roosters, who were about to lose it. In the end, it was Raiders fans losing it. It was a line-in-the-sand moment on the game's biggest stage. Rules were said to be tightened then, but NRL rule tightening and on-field crackdowns are like workplace budget cuts. They're in force for a while, then things get rubbery again, and another crackdown appears. All the while, NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley has been presiding. A popular figure, 'Felix' has been around the game since father time, except for a dabble in politics. He's been an admirable public protector of referees, and for that, he should be congratulated, even when at times he comes across as a sitcom buffoon, telling us all with a straight face something hasn't happened when it blatantly has, or some decision was correct, when it blatantly wasn't. Cue Benny Hill music. Referee bashing is the game's biggest blight, and at least he's in their corner, often to his own public detriment. The coaches and players, even the trainers, should be copping it for constantly flouting the rules, piling pressure on top of pressure to refs, not the refs themselves. Annesley's role means he's not just the protector of the referees, he's the protector of the rules. And a proper, thorough and disciplined protection of the rules, can lead to protection of the referees. On top of that, he's overseen the introduction of many rules that are ridiculous. Many of them add to the referee pile-on, through no fault of their own. Loading Take, for instance, protection of the player in the air. An attacker and a defender leap for a bomb in the in-goal and, if the attacker grabs the ball, the defender has to somehow disappear, not contact the attacker on the way down, allowing him freely to score. It's absurd, and completely not what the rule was supposed to be about – blatantly belting a player mid-air when no attempt is made to contest the ball at all. We used to hear from Annesley every Monday to explain weekend decisions, but this year he's been muzzled, because it often led to more dissection of decisions when the debate about many had already fizzled out. As well as ridicule when he defended the indefensible. NRL HQ sin-binned him from that public appearance. The ultimate sin bin might lie just around the corner.
The Age
6 hours ago
- The Age
The NRL's boss of football has had a stinker of a year. It might be time for the sin bin
Then there's blatant rule-bending that goes unchecked. Trainers have been running around fields like army generals – barking orders from behind enemy lines, blatantly flouting the rules. It's only when they run through enemy lines, as Panthers trainer Corey Bocking did live in 4K on our television sets, that punishments occur. When challenged with solid evidence that trainers are staying on the field beyond the fourth tackle, which is forbidden, the NRL says it's the responsibility of ground managers to keep them in check. OK, then. That'll have the trainers quaking in their boots. How on earth is the ground manager going to stop trainers from directing players toward the perfect spot for a match-winning field goal? Then, all of a sudden, blistering letters are sent to clubs from HQ warning about the conduct of trainers, even though the problem is years old. Trainers should have had their wings checked after then-Roosters trainer Travis Touma was hit by the ball in the opening minutes of the 2019 grand final, costing the Raiders precious field position, possibly a try, and handing the ball back to the Roosters, who were about to lose it. In the end, it was Raiders fans losing it. It was a line-in-the-sand moment on the game's biggest stage. Rules were said to be tightened then, but NRL rule tightening and on-field crackdowns are like workplace budget cuts. They're in force for a while, then things get rubbery again, and another crackdown appears. All the while, NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley has been presiding. A popular figure, 'Felix' has been around the game since father time, except for a dabble in politics. He's been an admirable public protector of referees, and for that, he should be congratulated, even when at times he comes across as a sitcom buffoon, telling us all with a straight face something hasn't happened when it blatantly has, or some decision was correct, when it blatantly wasn't. Cue Benny Hill music. Referee bashing is the game's biggest blight, and at least he's in their corner, often to his own public detriment. The coaches and players, even the trainers, should be copping it for constantly flouting the rules, piling pressure on top of pressure to refs, not the refs themselves. Annesley's role means he's not just the protector of the referees, he's the protector of the rules. And a proper, thorough and disciplined protection of the rules, can lead to protection of the referees. On top of that, he's overseen the introduction of many rules that are ridiculous. Many of them add to the referee pile-on, through no fault of their own. Loading Take, for instance, protection of the player in the air. An attacker and a defender leap for a bomb in the in-goal and, if the attacker grabs the ball, the defender has to somehow disappear, not contact the attacker on the way down, allowing him freely to score. It's absurd, and completely not what the rule was supposed to be about – blatantly belting a player mid-air when no attempt is made to contest the ball at all. We used to hear from Annesley every Monday to explain weekend decisions, but this year he's been muzzled, because it often led to more dissection of decisions when the debate about many had already fizzled out. As well as ridicule when he defended the indefensible. NRL HQ sin-binned him from that public appearance. The ultimate sin bin might lie just around the corner.
