South Sydney claim NRL exploiting Mitchell

South Sydney are on a collision course with the NRL over what the Rabbitohs see as the exploitation of their star Latrell Mitchell.

The Rabbitohs have been privately seething for months about the NRL’s approach to Mitchell. There have been a number of flashpoints, but it peaked at Tuesday’s draw announcement when NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was asked about the scheduling of Souths’ match against Sydney Roosters.

Abdo did little to hide his delight at the timing of the game, which is scheduled for round three when Mitchell returns from a ban for his hit on Joey Manu.

The smile on Abdo’s face when he delivered the news was what irked Souths as much as the scheduling of the match.

The clash between Manu and Mitchell was one of the most dramatic on-field moments of the year, one that still divides the two clubs – and fans. Mitchell missed the Rabbitohs’ run to the grand final and will sit out the first two games of 2022 after he pleaded guilty to a grade-two reckless high tackle for the hit that left Manu with a fractured eye socket.

Souths claim there has been no real consideration given to Mitchell in the scheduling of the rematch – quite the opposite – and that he is being exploited.

Roosters centre Joseph Manu confronts South Sydney’s Latrell Mitchell after the hit that broke his cheekbone.Credit: Getty

Souths chief executive Blake Solly chose his words carefully.

“The NRL are quick to utilise Latrell and his profile to market the competition or ask him to take a leadership position on issues such as vaccination – when it benefits them,” he said. “It would be more impressive if they were as quick to protect and defend him from some of the outrageous personal criticism and abuse he receives at other times.”

Solly and the Rabbitohs were privately seething at the game’s bosses – Abdo in particular, who said Mitchell should have been sent off – for the way they reacted to the incident. That the NRL publicly criticised the match officials prior to Mitchell’s case being concluded annoyed Souths, but they bit their tongue.

The last comment Solly made about racist attacks on Mitchell is a direct reference to a real sore point at Souths that has lingered for two years. It relates to a story first raised in this column when Mitchell was asked to wear an Indigenous flag in the return of the Simply The Best ad campaign, without prior consultation with Souths or Mitchell. The Souths star posing draped in the flag became a focal point of the heavily criticised commercial and Mitchell was left to handle the fallout.

“I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect by smiling or my comments,” Abdo said. “The draw throws up lots of situations and we don’t focus on one individual. I was smiling because it wasn’t something that was planned for or I had thought about.

“Latrell is a wonderful player and fans will be excited to see him back playing again. The schedule is driven by so many constraints and we don’t focus on any one individual element.”

Leichhardt of gold

The return of Tim Sheens to Leichhardt has been portrayed as something akin to the second coming by Wests Tigers, but you have to remember this was the same club that sacked him in 2012.

Sheens took legal action against the club in relation to his dismissal and, after almost two years, reached a settlement with the Tigers in August 2014. Sheens has shown considerable forgiveness to return to the club.

After a long stint in England – three years at Hull Kingston Rovers and a year at Widnes – Sheens returned to Sydney on Sunday night and met with Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis the following day: Sheens arrived in a RAV4; Hagipantelis in a Mercedes G-Class wagon, worth about $300,000. The chairman was looking resplendent in his trademark hat for his first face-to-face with Sheens. The pair were instrumental in shaping the club’s upcoming season via a series of Zoom meetings while Sheens was still in the UK.

We’re not sure if Sheens bummed a lift home in the Merc, but the new coaching director deserves to travel in style.

Ire of the Tigers

Our interview with Andrew Johns last week sent Wests Tigers into a furious spin. Johns’ statement that he thinks he could add significantly to Luke Brooks’ game left Tigers officials very upset. They are trying to say that Johns has been out of line and contacting Brooks, which club employees cannot do.

Johns spoke to Brooks informally several weeks ago about his career. Johns was not an employee of the Knights at the time – he was still working with the Eels, as far as we can ascertain. And Johns didn’t ask Brooks to join Parramatta.

Johns signed on with Newcastle only last week, a few days before the column appeared, and long after he spoke with Brooks.

Not taking the punt

Peter V’landys has denied suggestions he is set to leave his roles as ARL Commission chairman and chief executive of Racing NSW to head up Foxbet, a gambling operation run by News Corp, should it get up and running in Australia. V’landys was spotted at Channel Nine headquarters on Tuesday on his way to a meeting with Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello. We told you last week the free-to-air TV rights deal has a way to go. It now appears to be within $25 million of being finalised for a five-year period.

Away from the field, Adam Reynolds is being helped by former Rabbitohs boss Shane Richardson.Credit: Getty Images

Richo rich

Souths have maintained they couldn’t match the money Adam Reynolds could earn elsewhere, which was why he signed a three-year, $2.2 million deal with the Broncos in May. In an interesting twist, one of Souths’ own is making sure Reynolds will earn a sum that will dwarf his Redfern income. Reynolds has long been managed by Steve Gillis, however, Gillis has allowed former Rabbitohs football boss Shane Richardson to work on corporate deals for Reynolds.

Richardson has established a marketing and digital company, and one of its projects is Reynolds. Outside of Payne Haas, the Broncos are short on star power, so there is a gap for Reynolds. One of the first deals Richardson is looking at is TV. Reynolds has had an association with Fox Sports in the past, but a deal with Channel Nine is set to be signed. The Broncos form a big part of Nine’s TV schedule and having Reynolds in their camp will be a bonus.

How Gyngell and Nine won battle of Waugh

The frantic scenes as Steve Waugh stormed to his famous last-ball century at the SCG have been laid bare in a new book from Sydney Morning Herald chief sports writer Andrew Webster. They were particularly chaotic for broadcaster Channel Nine.

Waugh was batting to save his career that day in January 2003 and, as he edged closer to triple figures, a decision had to be made about taking the extraordinary step of delaying the 6pm news. Panicked phone calls bounced between the Nine commentary box, chief executive David Gyngell, news director Paul Fenn and the network’s owner, Kerry Packer. The decision was made easier for Gyngell because Packer was watching the cricket – and legendary newsreader Brian Henderson had retired two months earlier.

“The news ran the network, but I told them to stay with it,” Gyngell says in If These Walls Could Talk. “This was the day before multi-channels, but the cricket in those days would rate so heavily. When it got to 6.30pm I was thinking, ‘God, I hope he gets his century because the newsroom will be that angry if he gets out on 98’. I was lucky Hendo wasn’t there. If it was Hendo, I might have had less courage. It wasn’t too hard to keep it on because Kerry wanted to watch it. He had an interest in the captain of Australia getting a century in possibly his last Test.”

The gamble paid off. At 6.46pm, almost one in nine Australians – 2.1 million viewers – were watching when Waugh hit the last ball of the day for four.

Waugh has been stopped almost daily by people telling him where they were at that moment, including one man who detached a retina in celebration just minutes before going in for surgery.

It is also revealed how Waugh’s twin brother, Mark, left early because he didn’t want to miss the first race at Harold Park trots, instead watching the final over in the office of then Harness Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys.

If These Walls Could Talk: A Celebration of the SCG is available in all good book stores or at stokehillpress.com.

Ripe for the poaching

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys has proven himself the COVID king for his handling of the pandemic, but one of his best moves was the appointment of Andrew Abdo as chief executive. He has thrived in the role to the point where he is a top-flight sporting administrator.

The problem for the NRL is that Abdo is still on L-plate CEO money and doesn’t have a contract. It makes him a sitting duck if another sport wants to poach him.

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