The trouble with Trell: Will Bennett and the Bunnies save Mitchell?

One of the first people Wayne Bennett picked up to the phone to when he sealed his return to South Sydney was Latrell Mitchell.

The pair share an incredibly close bond, forged more in their common love of the farm, just as much as footy. Mitchell was wandering aimlessly through the start of the season, suspended again and his club in freefall.

“I need ya,” Mitchell said.

“Yes,” Bennett deadpanned. “Yes, you do.”

How prophetic those words were.

Depending on who you listen to, Latrell Mitchell was told earlier this year he was down to his last chance at South Sydney. Others will deny it was as explicit as that.

But there’s no doubt a meeting between Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly and Mitchell’s adviser, Matt Rose, involved a version of the riot act being read, and how there would be little tolerance for any more slip-ups.

If that came after an expletive-laden radio interview on Triple M and a needless suspension for elbowing Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson (coach Jason Demetriou was sacked shortly after while Mitchell was on the sidelines), then how will the Rabbitohs’ high-powered board act now?

On Thursday, the NRL announced it had sent a breach notice to rugby league’s highest-profile figure for bringing the game into disrepute after being photographed leaning over a table with a white substance on it (there’s no suggestion the substance is illegal).

Latrell Mitchell celebrates a South Sydney try.Credit: NRL Photos

Once he deals with the NRL penalty – which will include a one-game ban and substantial fine – then all eyes will turn to what South Sydney co-owners Russell Crowe, James Packer and Mike Cannon-Brookes and their representatives will do with a rugby league phenomenon who is wearing thin on those who pay him.

As revealed by this masthead, Mitchell will be required to front the Rabbitohs’ board, where he will face further penalty.

According to sources not authorised to discuss the matter publicly because the issue is ongoing, the Rabbitohs board is furious with the latest wave of negative headlines in a year the club just wants to finish and forget.

Mitchell is closer to being sacked than even he might believe. He has one trump card, though: Bennett.

The supercoach has a history of turning troubled souls around, and it will weigh heavily on South Sydney powerbrokers as they mull the type of question no club wants to debate when it comes to their highest paid (Mitchell’s salary has nudged well beyond $1 million a season) and most influential player: stick or flick?

What’s most alarming for South Sydney is the circumstances of this latest slip-up, believed to have happened last weekend when Mitchell travelled to Dubbo for a weekend of promotional appearances, while also visiting seriously sick children through Camp Quality.

Anyone who has spent time in Mitchell’s company knows how hyper sensitive he is about his environment. Many cameramen can attest to Mitchell’s acute awareness of his surroundings, not afraid to call out media outlets shooting vision in any setting he doesn’t believe they should be allowed. He always wants to know who’s around.

Latrell Mitchell appearing to lean over a table with a white substance on it. There is no suggestion the substance is an illicit drug.

On the weekend, it appears he was partying in a Dubbo motel room with people he was scantly familiar with, and certainly unaware he was being photographed in a compromised environment, let alone with any inkling the image would leave his career at its most significant crossroads.

A row has since broken out between Dubbo locals over who was responsible for spreading the image – which was shopped to media outlets on Monday – but his club is questioning why was Mitchell even in that position in the first place?

South Sydney have approved multiple regional trips for Mitchell in the past six weeks after a Lisfranc injury to his foot ended his season. The smiles he puts on kids’ faces and goodwill he delivers to those communities is immeasurable. All his club asks is for him to keep out of off-field trouble.

“I love the game, but when it comes to representing your culture and the game allows you to do that, it’s very special,” Mitchell told Dubbo’s Daily Liberal last weekend. “A lot of people get a kick out of it. It’s inclusive and it involves everyone.”

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This year alone, Mitchell’s club and state has shielded him like never before.

The Rabbitohs have stood by and watched Mitchell lobby for a hefty punishment for Roosters rival Spencer Leniu in the Ezra Mam racism saga in Las Vegas, even though he wasn’t playing in the game himself. Mitchell made the comments before the matter was heard at the NRL judiciary, frustrating NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, who had an audience with Mitchell to remind him of his responsibilities.

Then came the radio interview where he repeatedly dropped the f bomb and said, “I don’t care if I’m swearing”.

There was the Johnson suspension.

Naturally, the Rabbitohs threw their support behind Mitchell when a fan was called out for directing racist abuse at South Sydney players during a match against St George Illawarra at Kogarah.

The heated argument with media pundit Braith Anasta at a swanky inner-city restaurant was another distraction.

A Wayne Bennett return to South Sydney and a reunion with Latrell Mitchell awaits next season.Credit: Getty

And then Blues coach Michael Maguire turned the media blowtorch on himself with a “glass houses” jibe, completely out of character, to take attention away from Mitchell’s return to State of Origin arena before game two in Melbourne. He was rewarded, with Mitchell starring in the series-levelling win and his teammates gushing about his presence in camp.

But there’s only so much protection one can be afforded, and that’s the call South Sydney need to make, particularly with young gun Jye Gray shining at No.1 in Mitchell’s absence.

“I will be there for him and I hope I can give them the help that he needs,” Bennett said of Mitchell on Friday. “I haven’t reached out to him [now]. I am not giving any counselling … here today. The club is handling it. I know he would be upset with himself. We’ve just got to get it sorted out and move forward.

“At the end of the day, he is a football player and it is what he does on the field he should be remembered for. That’s the key. Not what he does off the field.”

But on that front, Mitchell is starting to fight a losing battle.

In an interview before the 2019 grand final, his last game for the Roosters, Mitchell predicted he would be retired and on a farm kicking back by the age of 30. At 27, if he’s true to his word, his time to change perceptions is fast running out.

But first, can he be given one last, last chance?

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