Latrell Mitchell meets with Andrew Abdo as Souths boss Nick Pappas gives his verdict on radio rant

As Latrell Mitchell prepares to meet with NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, Rabbitohs chairman Nick Pappas has thrown his support behind the star fullback, as stats show he is off to his best start to a season since 2021.

Andrew Abdo on Latrell Mitchell

Long-time South Sydney chair Nick Pappas says Latrell Mitchell retains his and the club’s full support but has acknowledged the Rabbitohs superstar could have handled himself better during his R-rated post-match interview last week.

Pappas’ support for Mitchell came as NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo met the Souths superstar on Wednesday night in the wake of his controversial interview with Triple M NRL following the club’s loss to Brisbane a week ago.

Abdo told this masthead that he had “a tough and honest conversation” with Mitchell during a meeting that lasted more than an hour, having earlier confirmed that the Souths fullback would not be sanctioned for his comments.

“I met with Latrell this evening,” Abdo said.

“It was a tough and honest conversation. I explained to Latrell what’s expected of him as an NRL player and the issues with his behaviour of the last few weeks which can’t be repeated.

“He acknowledged this and we agreed to continue to work together on some important issues impacting the game.”

South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell has a meeting with NRL boss Andrew Abdo. Picture: NRL Photos

The decision to issue Mitchell with a warning rather than a fine or suspension was consistent with previous decisions concerning Sydney Roosters hooker Brandon Smith and Cronulla forward Toby Rudolf over their colourful use of language.

Pappas, meanwhile, insisted Mitchell retained the club’s full support, although he admitted he was disappointed with the way the 26-year-old handled himself in the wake of defeat to the Broncos.

While Mitchell’s language has received most of the attention, there has also been concern in some quarters over the way he spoke about his personal pleasure at scoring his 100th try given the club suffered their second consecutive loss to open the season.

”The club internally is dealing with him appropriately,” Pappas said.

“I am satisfied that the football department and (chief executive) Blake (Solly) are putting the right things in place to give him the support he needs at this time.

“I have every faith in him delivering for this club this season and beyond. He always has our support. At the same time it doesn’t mean I don’t believe that moment could have been handled better.

“Absolutely it could have been and I am sure Latrell would say that.”

Prior to his interview with Triple M, which prompted the NRL to remind all their radio partners of their obligations following complaints from the Nine Network and clubs, Mitchell was also in the crosshairs over his comments surrounding the judiciary hearing of Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu.

The NRL was forced to privately ask all players to not comment on matters before the judiciary after a number of stars, including Mitchell, made their feelings known on social media. Remarkably, despite the maelstrom that has been going on around him, Mitchell has been arguably the Rabbitohs’ best player through the opening two rounds of the season.

Nick Pappas believes Latrell Mitchell could’ve handled himself better in his radio interview.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo. Picture: Tim Hunter

Statistics obtained by this masthead show that Mitchell has made his best start to a season since 2021, his second year at Souths.

Mitchell has been more involved over the opening two weeks of this season, run for more metres, busted more tackles, made more line breaks and scored more tries through rounds one and two compared to the 2023 and 2022 seasons.

Mitchell’s flying form comes as the Rabbitohs go in search of their first win of the season against his former club, the Sydney Roosters.

Souths welcome back Mitchell’s good mate Jack Wighton for the game as he makes his first appearance since his off-season switch from Canberra.

The Roosters, meanwhile, must overcome the loss of Luke Keary as they look to celebrate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ 300th game in the NRL with a victory.

‘BLOWN UP INTO SOMETHING BIGGER’: ABDO DEFENDS NRL STANCE ON MITCHELL

—Fatime Kdouh

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has rejected the suggestion that the game’s governing body is too afraid to sanction South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell over an expletive laced interview last week.

Mitchell gave a post-match interview after the Rabbitohs’ loss to Brisbane where he swore five times in 30 seconds raising the ire of league fans.

Mitchell has not been sanctioned over the radio interview, leading to calls that the NRL is walking on eggshells when it comes to the high-profile star.

“I think that’s a bold statement to make,” Abdo said.

“We have proven in the past when a player breaches the rules and we believe it warrants a breach action we take it. Equally, we are accused of being too harsh on players,” Abdo said.

“Everyone will have their view. I’m really comfortable with where this sits and I’m comfortable with the action we are taking at the moment.”

Fans and media commentators have been calling for Mitchell to be formally sanctioned but Abdo suggested that the ‘regrettable’ incident has been blown out of proportion.

“From time to time to get language used that is regrettable is quite isolated from my point of view. I don’t think this is an endemic problem and blown up into something bigger than it necessarily is,” Abdo said.

“Having said all that, we have clear standards and we’ll maintain those standards.”

It was reported that Abdo would be seeking an urgent interview with Mitchell over the incident but the CEO said he is yet to reach out to him.

“I think that is a conversation I would like to have with him personally,” Abdo said.

“It’s not one that’s to be had in the public. So that’s a conversation I’ll have with him when the time is right. We’ll cover a range of topics. I will always catch up with a player or any official in the game from time to time on a range of topics. We have a number of high profile players and Latrell is one of them. He’s a role model, he’s a leader and if there is an opportunity to work with him on a range of issues confronting the game. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t doing that.”

Andrew Abdo spoke at the NRL Multicultural Round Launch in Parramatta CBD today. Picture: Tim Hunter

Abdo said not sanctioning Mitchell was consistent with other examples, like Brandon Smith and Cronulla’s Toby Rudolf.

“This is consistent with how we have treated instances like this before, we haven’t formally breached the player but looked to work with them to develop how they formally communicate more broadly with the fans,” Abdo said.

“We had a number of instances where players have said the same thing but they haven’t been breached. Brandon Smith wasn’t breached for the words he used, neither was Toby Rudolf.”

In 2021, Abdo asked the NRL Integrity unit to review a podcast in which Smith appeared where he used the words f*** and c***.

Originally published as Latrell Mitchell meets with Andrew Abdo as Souths boss Nick Pappas gives his verdict on radio rant