NSW Cup or Queensland after Wests Tigers pull multimillion-dollar Latrell Mitchell offer
Latrell Mitchell is fast running out options after Wests Tigers withdrew their multimillion-dollar offer. Now the Origin and Test centre faces the humiliation of a year in reserve grade.
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When Brad Fittler booted Latrell Mitchell out of his NSW team this year, everyone thought it was Freddy who had lost the plot.
But six months on it appears Mitchell’s only remaining hope of resurrecting his NRL career next year will be if the disgruntled Sydney Rooster moves to Queensland to link with either Gold Coast or North Queensland.
It follows The Daily Telegraph’s exclusive online report on Thursday that the frustrated Wests Tigers had withdrawn a $3.8 million, four-year offer after becoming exasperated by drawn-out negotiations.
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Aside from moving to Queensland, the only possibility would be for Mitchell to play out the final year of his Roosters contract.
But that would almost certainly mean suffering the humiliation of being relegated to Canterbury Cup with the North Sydney Bears.
It is understood the Roosters will not entertain the thought of giving Mitchell a second chance, not after he rubbed their nose in an offer upgrade of $800,000 a season, which would have made him the NRL’s highest-paid centre.
The Roosters are said to be so over Mitchell’s attitude they are willing to pay a significant portion of his $700,000 wage for next season to any club willing to take him.
At every turn this saga has developed into a circus and it has become embarrassing for everyone involved.
Ultimately even the cashed-up Tigers felt they had no alternative but to make a call to protect their image.
As desperate as they were to sign the talented 22-year-old, chief executive Justin Pascoe contacted Mitchell’s manager Wayde Rushton on Thursday to withdraw the Tigers’ offer.
Pascoe left the door slightly ajar when he said the Tigers would welcome future talks, providing Mitchell wasn’t wasting their time.
The Tigers still have $1.7 million available in their salary cap and have indicated they will now turn their attention to other priorities.
St George Illawarra young gun Zac Lomax is among the club’s top priorities.
“Our first responsibility is to our club and we can’t be inactive in a market like the NRL player market and afford to sit around and wait,” Pascoe said. “We have no ill-feeling towards Latrell or his management and if they still would like to talk in the future we would welcome that.
“We will continue to pursue the talent that is out there in order to complement our already talented squad.”
Only the Titans are stating publicly they remain interested in Mitchell, although the Cowboys are considering re-entering the race if they can pick up a bargain.
While the Titans and Cowboys don’t have enough salary cap space to sign Mitchell for next year, that could change if they offload players in the coming weeks.
Canterbury are also adamant they have no desire to have another crack at Mitchell after withdrawing their interest.
The Titans’ head of culture and performance, Mal Meninga, believes he can help the unsettled young star reach his full potential as a footballer and an indigenous leader at his club.
Mitchell also has a previous relationship with new coach Justin Holbrook, who coached him at the Roosters.
While Meninga has spoken on the phone with Mitchell, they are yet to meet face to face. It is expected that won’t happen until next week at the earliest, but Meninga maintains he is very interested.
The Cowboys had basically given up on Mitchell joining the club after snaring Valentine Holmes but the Tigers’ decision to withdraw has reignited a glimmer of hope.
Like the Titans, the problem for the Cowboys is that they don’t have the salary cap space available for 2021 to meet Mitchell’s $1 million-a-season asking price unless they can offload a couple of players.
While Mitchell’s management is understood to be asking clubs for their best offer, that is just not possible given clubs can’t determine their best offer until they make salary cap space by shifting players.
That can only happen when they know how much they need to make available, which is why it is now Mitchell’s call to put a price on his own head.
His initial asking price of $1 million a season is now looking decidedly ambitious.
As much as this soap opera is frustrating everyone, it could take several weeks before it comes close to a resolution.
Originally published as NSW Cup or Queensland after Wests Tigers pull multimillion-dollar Latrell Mitchell offer