Phil Rothfield calls on Latrell Mitchell to stop playing the victim in open letter | Saint, Sinner, Shoosh
An open letter to suspended Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell, the latest Knights big name to be shown the door, and Brad Fittler’s cameo at the Blues awards explained, in Saint, Sinner, Shoosh.
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Dear Latrell,
I read the headline in The Daily Telegraph on Friday – ‘Latrell’s limbo fury’.
You poor bugger.
You’re ready to play and need some answers from the NRL.
OMG. Are you for real?
Have you learnt nothing from the white substance photo scandal – not that I’m suggesting it was anything illegal.
Again, like the Triple M F-bomb tirade and the elbow to Shaun Johnson’s head, you have only yourself to blame for this latest predicament.
I’m sorry, but I want to applaud NRL boss Andrew Abdo for standing firm on this one.
Your attempt to serve the one-week suspension in Friday night’s Roosters game failed the pub test.
Online polls during the week had 90 per cent of fans demanding you miss round 1 next year.
And that’s the way it should be. You and Souths need to move on.
This week should have been all about Damien Cook and Tom Burgess playing their last games for your great club, not you.
You should have one goal in mind.
Not the Koori Knockout, not the All-Stars game — as much as I love and admire your passion for these games.
More importantly, you have an obligation to South Sydney fans, members and sponsors to be super fit and ready to go in round 2 next year under master coach Wayne Bennett.
Please, no more playing the victim card.
Next year is about delivering week in and week out for the Rabbitohs to justify your $1 million-plus salary. Nothing else matters.
Buzz
SAINT
Former Kangaroos and Blues Origin forward Aaron Woods has announced his retirement from rugby league. He’s a great bloke with old-school values who unselfishly played the last couple of years for peanuts in more of a mentoring role at the Sea Eagles. In his heyday there were no better props in the game.
SINNER
Now and again my old mate Bulldog Ritchie strays off the leash. His remarks last week that “the finals are the weakest in memory” were ridiculously outrageous. Personally, I can’t wait for next weekend and the next month of footy as long as the refs put their whistles away. Any of four or five sides can win. Go You Sharkies.
SHOOSH
Which high profile league media personality wants the Wests Tigers kicked out of the NRL and their Campbelltown nursery handed over to a western Sydney rival. You will hear all about it on a much-anticipated podcast next week.
SHOOSH
The rumour will not go away that the Brisbane Broncos are seriously interested in Melbourne Storm prop Christian Welch to beef-up their middle-forwards for next season.
SPOTTED
Wests Tigers CEO Shane Richardson has made some outrageous comments over the years, none more so than describing Barry O’Farrell this week as the best chairman he’s ever worked for. Richo was previously at South Sydney under Nick Pappas, who stands alongside Nick Politis as the most respected chairmen in the game. Without Pappas’ legal skills, the Rabbitohs would not even be in the NRL.
SPOTTED
Bulldogs superstar Josh Addo-Carr and Danika Mason’s handbag Liam Knight handing out shoes to the homeless in Martin Place last week. Canterbury Leagues donated $10,000 worth of shoes which the boys gave away.
BIG BREKKY
Catch you this morning at 9.40am on the Weekend Big Sports Breakfast with hosts Ray Thomas and Dean “Bulldog” Ritchie to discuss all things rugby league.
KNIGHTS DONE WITH HASTINGS
Poor old Jackson Hastings is the latest Newcastle Knights player to be classified as excess baggage.
The 28-year-old halfback is on a ridiculously high contract of $800,000 next year and has been told he is free to look elsewhere.
Not that any other club would be prepared to pay anywhere near that amount of money for a struggling NSW Cup halfback.
The Hastings contract was originally done as part of a swap deal with front-rower Dave Klemmer between Newcastle and the Wests Tigers.
Whoever decided to throw $800,000 his way should not have anything to do with salary cap management.
Hastings has played 17 NRL games for the Knights this year but has twice been dropped to NSW Cup.
He’s performed solidly but mostly ineffectively.
The Knights will honour his contract next year but would prefer to contribute money to a new deal elsewhere.
Hastings has played for six clubs since debuting in 2014 – at the Roosters, Manly Sea Eagles, Salford, Wigan, the Wests Tigers and the Knights. His manager Liam Ayoub fancies himself as a big deal-maker but he’ll be flat-out getting Hastings another NRL gig.
A move back to the UK Super League is the most likely scenario.
The Knights have hired recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan to do a roster overhaul for next year.
And Hastings is not the only one who has been told he can move on.
Hooker Jayden Brailey, front-rowers Jack Hetherington and Daniel Saifiti and lock Adam Elliott have all been told they can look for another club.
SLATER IN THE SADDLE
The great Billy Slater is proving his versatility at Channel 9. The popular commentator and Maroons State of Origin coach will switch from the NRL action to the Melbourne Cup racing carnival after the grand final.
Slater, a trackwork jockey in his younger days, will be on horseback after the major races to interview the winning jockeys in the role John Letts used to play when Channel 7 had the rights.
The former champion fullback and his, wife Nicole, love the racing game and breed horses at Slater Thoroughbreds.
WHISKY TO GOGO
NRL 360 host Braith Anasta doesn’t mind a shot of whisky.
It’s why he is promoting a fun new way to consume it – via a bubbler, and luckily he did the photo shoot on a day off – and not before his show.
Fireball Whisky is launching the Fireball bubbler for the footy finals at the Robin Hood Hotel, deep in Sydney Roosters territory.
It delivers an icy cold 30ml serve – and means you don’t have to line up at the bar.
RELATIONSHIPS ARE SOWARD
Jamie Soward’s goal was to one day be the NSW women’s Origin coach. His relationships with players won’t allow that to happen.
Soward was axed last week as coach of St George Illawarra’s NRLW team. They’re saying he had communication issues with the players.
The Dragons have lost some outstanding talent since the 2010 premiership-winning five-eighth started at the Dragons.
Kezie Apps went to the Wests Tigers, Jaime Chapman to the Gold Coast and Emma Tonegato to the Sharks – all Origin players.
Another two Origin players quick for the Gold Coast – Taliah Fuimaono and Shaylee Bent.
St George Illawarra has also lost Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and Alexis Tauaneai to the Bulldogs next year.
The Dragons felt they had to act on Soward to shore up their roster.
JD ON A FACT-FINDER
Former South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou is using his break from the NRL to advance his knowledge on the game.
He was recently spotted spending a day in Melbourne with Storm master coach Craig Bellamy and general manager of football Frank Ponissi.
He also spent time looking at the operations of two AFL clubs.
Demetriou is doing a great job in his appearances on Triple M but is too good a coach not to be involved with an NRL club, possibly PNG when they enter the competition.
SO HONEST TO GOODNESS
I was almost going to make James Maloney my Saint this week, but it’s a bit hard when he’s facing drink-driving charges.
What I really admire about the two-time premiership-winning five-eighth is that he immediately took ownership of his indiscretion.
He picked up the phone, no hiding from the media, no lawyers involved, and admitted he had stuffed up, even apologising to the Cowboys for the distraction on the eve of the finals.
My goodness this is a lesson for others in rugby league.
Don’t hide behind your media managers. Don’t be in denial. Cop your medicine and move on.
We all make mistakes and the punters understand that.
And we’re all a lot more forgiving of someone who can admit they were in the wrong, like Jimmy Maloney did.
FREDDIE STILL GOT IT
‘Freddy’ Fittler was a late arrival and made a quick exit from the Brad Fittler Medal presentation last Monday night.
He turned up to hand over the award to Angus Crichton and then made a quick exit without staying for dinner.
Those closest to Freddy suggest he is still peeved over the way he was treated by the NSWRL last year when replaced by Michael Maguire as the Blues Origin coach … hence the fact he didn’t stick around on the night.
NSWRL chief executive Dave Trodden played it down.
“Freddy has had such a prominent role in our organisation and played more Origin games for NSW than anyone else,” Trodden said.
“For him to come each year to present the award to the winner adds another special layer of prestige to the night.”
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