Latrell Mitchell farce embarrasses the NRL

South Sydney ruled Latrell Mitchell out for the season weeks ago - now the club is embarking on an embarrassing campaign that should be called out.

Latrell Mitchell shouldn't be allowed to return this year.

COMMENT

There’s only one medical condition verified thus far in Latrell Mitchell’s suspension drama, and that’s South Sydney’s crippling amnesia.

After all, it seems the club can’t keep track of their star player’s injury status after issuing a list of prognoses ranging everywhere from eight weeks to leprosy.

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Yet even despite officially ruling him out until next year, the club now wants us to believe he’s cherry ripe to serve his suspension this weekend by naming his remains to play Friday night against the Roosters.

UPDATE: NRL makes call on Latrell Mitchell bid

And if the NRL meekly allows this to happen, they might as well hand over the keys to these lawless powerhouse clubs because Souths are taking the p*** so blatantly they’ve got enough for a month’s worth of ASADA samples.

In rugby league’s pantheon of atrocious crisis management, South Sydney’s management of the Mitchell white powder scandal has already been one of the great “hold my beer” moments.

Not only did the administration allow the fiasco to unfold in public for weeks without a conclusion, they ended it by hiding inside after shunting Mitchell directly in to the dripping fangs of a waiting press pack.

Latrell Mitchell leaves the South Sydney Rabbitohs HQ, at the Heffron Centre, Maroubra, today, after fronting the board. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

A supplied image that alleges to show NRL Star Latrell Mitchell with a white powder substance. Picture: Supplied

Yet after being presented with the chance to mercifully move forward by copping their medicine, instead the club has mindlessly walked back in to the firestorm like Indiana Jones returning for his hat.

Put simply, this attempt by South Sydney to manipulate the suspension date is a grubby and unnecessary move that doesn’t pass the pub test.

And worse still, it leaves the Rabbitohs brand in notorious company alongside Taylan May (who had a two week ban for assault delayed to play finals), and Queensland (TBA).

And if the attempt bears fruit?

Not only will it prove that high profile clubs like Souths always get the soft end of the pineapple, but also that the NRL is a papery organisation with the spine of a tapeworm.

Don’t get me wrong; Mitchell being named to play in his pyjamas for an inconsequential match against the Roosters isn’t the issue here.

Latrell Mitchell has had a tough 2024 season. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

It’s the fact Souths have failed to cover their own tracks with the narrative and the game is still gonna let them off with a dodgy medical certificate.

With interim coach Ben Hornby earlier ruling Mitchell out for the season due to the unknown nature of his lisfranc injury - plus concerns over his general fitness - everyone accepted the fullback was finished for the year and would serve his ban in the All-Stars game, pre-season trials or even for the Kangaroos.

“He’s missed two weeks of training because he was sick last week, so he won’t get back this year,” Hornby said.

But after Mal Meninga shut down any chance of Kangaroos selection, Souths’ attention immediately turned to sourcing a GP who thinks rugby league is played on one leg.

Ben Hornby ruled Latrell out for the season. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

And what makes it stink even more?

The club agreed at the time of the ban that it would only be served by the rep star once genuinely declared fully fit and firing.

Yet after all this, now Souths only need a piece of paper to carry out the most stench-ridden heist in the NRL since Julian O’Neill’s shoe-shining.

But to be fair, the NRL has invited this behaviour on itself.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo should stand up to Souths. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

And if it sets this precedent, not only does it expose itself to shonky behaviour from self-serving clubs, it also risks a front office filled with more dodgy medical documentation than a Turkish teeth whitening clinic.

Nevertheless, South Sydney are advancing forth unperturbed with their goldfish behaviour, even assuring the media on Tuesday Mitchell remains an “outside chance” to play despite being restricted to riding an exercise bike at training.

Perhaps they are bending the rules even further to have the game played at a Velodrome.

- Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.