NRL 2022: Blake Taaffe makes big impression as Souths await word on extent of Latrell Mitchell injury
As the Rabbitohs await word on the severity of Latrell Mitchell’s injury, Jason Demetriou can at least take comfort from ‘the pretty special performance’ from his replacement on Saturday.
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South Sydney young gun Blake Taaffe says he’s ready to be thrown into the deep end for the second year in a row after fullback Latrell Mitchell went down with a hamstring injury against the Dragons on Saturday night.
Mitchell clutched at his left hamstring about 15 minutes into the game and was immediately ruled out by the trainer. It’s the same injury that ruled him out of the 2020 finals series.
The rep star is set for scans on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury that is reportedly not linked to the cortisone injection he required after last week’s loss to the Panthers.
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Mitchell’s likely absence opens the door for Taaffe to add to his nine NRL appearances after he battled through an injury-plagued off-season that affected both his ankles.
Taaffe had surgery to remove some bone from his left ankle after last year’s Grand Final, which meant he wasn’t able to train for months.
The 22-year-old was then set to wear the No.1 jersey in the opening round while Mitchell was out suspended but hurt his other ankle on the eve of South Sydney’s game against Brisbane.
“It was very frustrating not having that first game to showcase what I can do. Getting injured in the Captain’s Run wasn’t ideal, but it’s part of the game we’re in,” he said.
“I had surgery at the end of the year so I didn’t have much time (to train). I came back for about four weeks and then I had a cortisone, so I had to wait until the trials.”
He only returned to training last Thursday but showed enough in a week to convince coach Jason Demetriou that he was ready to return against St George Illawarra.
He said he was caught off guard when he had to come on so early because his job was to come on in the final 20 minutes to bring energy off the bench.
“I thought it was a pretty special performance from Blake,” Demetriou said.
“For a kid who comes back in with still under 10 NRL games and hasn’t trained and played with the team for four weeks, to come in and play 65 minutes was a big effort from him.”
Taaffe will now own the fullback role until Mitchell comes back. It’s something that may have rattled him last year, but the experience and combinations he developed in the finals have him confident for what’s to come.
It also helps that he scored two tries and won the 2019 Jersey Flegg Grand Final with Lachlan Ilias, so that will make life easier for Taaffe who now gets to revive his combinations with Cody Walker, Cam Murray and Damien Cook.
“Knowing the standard I have to play week in, week out (will help) my effort areas around the ball and just doing my job and doing my best for the team. If that’s my job for the next few weeks then I’m going to knuckle down and do my best,” he said.
“I played 20s with Lachie so we have good combinations with each other, so I thrive off him. Doing what I did with Cody last year and Cookie and Cam (makes my job easier).”
Mitchell injury fails to throw Rabbitohs off their game
South Sydney’s sloppy 24-12 win over the Dragons has been soured by a hamstring injury to superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell on a sodden Accor Stadium surface that had recently been relaid in parts.
It didn’t look like there was much in the tackle that hurt Mitchell, and there were reports the star playmaker was unhappy with the surface that has copped an absolute soaking this year. It was relaid in patches last week after an under-18s music festival.
“It was a bit weird. There were some parts that were really soft and there were some parts that were really hard,” fill-in fullback Blake Taaffe said after the game.
Latrell Mitchell off with what appeared to be a left hamstring issue. Looked minor, but any hamstring issue a concern considering reinjury rate. His hamstring rupture + surgery in 2020 was also left hamstring which brings added concern. Usually a 2 week return to play best case
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) April 9, 2022
“It’s sort of hard because when you’re chasing across, you’re used to feeling that same turf, but then you hit that concrete thing and you can go a lot faster on that.
“It was a bit scrappy and I felt like it (the grass) was a bit longer than usual. I don’t think I’ve ever played on a field that’s been that long. At half-time of (NSW) Cup we went out there, as we always do to inspect the field, and we couldn’t believe how long it was.”
An Accor Stadium spokesman defended the surface, pointing out western Sydney had experienced the wettest start to a year on record and that the ground drained very well in spite of the rain.
“Field preparation was hampered by the unprecedented rainfall, with 150mm falling at the Stadium in the first nine days of April,” the spokesperson said.
“A section of turf between the 10m line and the tryline was replaced early in the week following a concert event at the northern end of the arena last week.”
Souths skipper Cam Murray wasn’t as concerned about the surface.
“I thought it was pretty good. It was a bit soft in the middle, but as the game went on it got churned up a bit,” he said.
Worryingly, this is the same hamstring that ended Mitchell’s 2020 season when the Rabbitohs fell one game short of the grand final without their marquee man.
Mitchell came into Saturday’s game carrying a knee injury that required a cortisone injection after last week’s loss to Penrith, although coach Jason Demetriou said he wasn’t too worried when asked about it at Friday’s training session.
But he now has a major headache on his hands after Mitchell lasted just 14 minutes in Saturday’s dour game.
“Latrell started the game really well, so it was a worry when he came off. Hopefully it’s not too bad,” Demetriou said.
“He says he doesn’t feel too bad so he’ll save a scan tomorrow. He had that hamstring injury that ended his season a few years ago so he probably has some demons from that.”
It happened when he stepped into a tackle by Aaron Woods and Tariq Sims coming off his own line. There didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, but he stayed down and South Sydney’s trainer immediately said he was no good.
Luckily Blake Taaffe was back in the side on the bench to cover for Mitchell as he did last year when the Blues star was suspended for the finals series. He helped set up a second-half try and will be important for them over the next few weeks.
“I thought it was a pretty special performance from Blake,” Demetriou said.
RUNNING IS ON THE MENU
Damien Cook’s running game has been criticised a few times this season, especially whenever the Rabbitohs lose.
But he was back to his best on Saturday with a couple of damaging darts that destroyed the Dragons through the middle of the ruck.
On a night that Cody Walker registered no runs in the first half, Cook took it upon himself to inspire his side when no one else seemed willing to do it.
It was his speed that got the Bunnies on the board when he latched onto a Jai Arrow offload, sprinted 35 metres and linked up with Campbell Graham who passed to Mitchell for a wonderful team try.
His run was one of the rare highlights on an error-riddled night that would have seen some of the crowd nod off if five fighter jets hadn’t flown over the precinct as part of Easter Show celebrations.
DOUR DRAGONS
The stats say they made more line-breaks than their opponents, but the reality is the Dragons never threatened in attack and look like a team that is destined to finish in the bottom four.
Too often they played without a plan, and even their structured moves lacked any fluency.
Their only points for the first 79 minutes came after some sloppy passes went to ground and then Moses Mbye brushed past a poor attempted tackle by Keaon Koloamatangi to score.
Otherwise they lacked any spark with the ball and they must seriously consider bringing Tyrell Sloan back into the side to provide some much-needed speed.
“We’ll have a look at it, but for Tyrell, it’s a development thing for him and learning how to do some things,” Dragons coach Anthony Griffin said. “When the time’s right and when his form’s right in those areas … he’ll get his chance.”
Mathew Feagai was one of the few positives with a couple of strong carries, but those amounted to nothing because no one was there to support him.
They have now lost four in a row and it’s hard to see how they turn it around.
Originally published as NRL 2022: Blake Taaffe makes big impression as Souths await word on extent of Latrell Mitchell injury
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