‘Rubbish’: Joey Johns blasts rumoured Latrell Mitchell switch to centres

South Sydney are searching for answers after being dumped out of finals, but one idea has been slammed as “rubbish” by a league legend.

South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback Latrell Mitchell (left) and Newcastle Knights legend Andrew Johns (right)

The rugby league world is full of ideas for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who after being tipped for premiership success at the beginning of the year by many, were unceremoniously dumped out of finals contention with a loss to the Roosters in Round 24.

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It marks a capitulation not seen in the league since 1992, with no club in the current finals system having gone from the top of the ladder in round 11 or later to missing out on finals altogether.

As leadership at Redfern look inward for ideas on how to take the storied club back to the promised land for the first time in a decade, reports have emerged that star fullback Latrell Mitchell is set for a switch to the centres with the imminent arrival of Raiders star Jack Wighton to South Sydney in 2024.

Joey Johns has teed off. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

However, those suggestions have been slammed by league legend Andrew Johns in a column for the Nine papers.

“Talk of Latrell Mitchell moving from fullback is the biggest load of rubbish I’ve heard,” Johns wrote.

“It’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. The team is there.

“They don’t need to make wholesale changes. They just need to make alterations.”

Johns went on to tell Nine’s Wide World of Sports that the proposal was a load of “BS”.

“I have never heard so much BS in my life, they have a team there, they have a roster that can threaten for a grand final,” he said.

“They need a big off-season, they need to tweak the attitude, change things up at training, get rock hard fit.”

Johns said that Mitchell could take a leaf out of the book of Novocastrian fullback Kalyn Ponga, who has seen a late-season resurgence after missing selection for State of Origin.

Kalyn Ponga has been on fire since giving up Origin. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Mitchell himself has at times come under fire for his Origin performances relative to his club performances.

“And I think if Latrell has a look at what Kalyn’s done at Newcastle. Kalyn, with Billy Slater, decided to sit out Origin. Since Origin his performances have gone through the roof,” he said.

“When you’ve got your gun player, with your head on, training hard and playing like that, everyone follows.

“(If) Latrell gets his head on, they will follow him, they will follow him anywhere.”

“They’ve got to tweak the attitude of the club, if they do that, they are a premiership threat,” he said.

“The roster they have, we all know mid-year they were flying. They lost four of their last 14, it’s not good enough.”

Mitchell’s woes have been at the centre of South Sydney’s troubles this season.

Johns isn’t the only old head in rugby league to have a take on the Rabbitohs’ woes.

Speaking on NRL 360, The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio said the initial suggestion came up after Alex McKinnon pondered how to get Mitchell more ball.

Gorden Tallis said that it didn’t make a lot of sense because fullbacks have “15-20 carries a game” and clearly have more ball than centres.

“It was about getting him into the action, fullback would be the spot for him,” Tallis concluded.

The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley agreed.

“It would be absolute madness in my books,” Crawley began.

“They’ve bought Jack Wighton to play centre — they’re paying $800,000. They’ve got Campbell Graham, they’ve got Isaiah Tass. And if you want to move Latrell there and Jack back at fullback, Jack’s 31.

“It would make absolutely no sense and it would show up that they’ve got their recruitment wrong because if you’re not buying Jack to play centre, you’re not buying him to play fullback.”

Braith Anasta said moving Mitchell was “not the solution”.

“Whether people think he’s a centre or a fullback or vice versa, the solution is not moving him from fullback to centre,” Anasta said.

“The team isn’t going to be any better with the players they’ve got there if they do that.

“It must be deep seated there. Coming first after round 11 and finishing the way they did … when they were coming first, everyone’s talking about this is the year of the rabbit.

“It’s not their foot ability that’s cost them, it’s whatever’s happening inside those four walls and psychologically the mindset of the players has just gone way off track.

“But I don’t think dramatic change is needed.”

Originally published as ‘Rubbish’: Joey Johns blasts rumoured Latrell Mitchell switch to centres