Latrell Mitchell is having a crisis meeting with South Sydney officials after the star fullback was rubbed out of his club’s most crucial juncture of the NRL season.
Mitchell has accepted the three-match suspension after he placed on report twice in the Bunnies’ 34-4 loss to the Warriors on Saturday and was charged for using his elbow to fend off Shaun Johnson.
Rather than fight the grade-two dangerous-contact charge and risk further suspension, Mitchell has taken an early guilty plea.
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He will now sit out games against Cronulla, Melbourne and Penrith, heaping more pressure on under-fire coach Jason Demetriou.
Mitchell wasn’t charged for a lifting tackle in the same game on Tohu Harris, with NRL head of football Graham Annesley revealing the South Sydney player had been given a “concerning act notice’‘.
“It didn’t warrant a charge because of the action that he took to avoid it turning into something that could’ve been much worse,” Annesley said.
Demetriou described Mitchell’s behaviour as “stupid” on Saturday and now faces the most testing period of his NRL coaching career without his most influential player.
The Souths coach is under increasing pressure to keep his job after a 1-4 start, compounded by the side missing the finals in 2023 after leading the competition through the first 11 rounds.
Now, there are fresh meetings with Mitchell as reports surface that the board has run out of patience with him and are tired of the drama that he seems to attract.
“The meeting was scheduled well before the match against the Warriors,” Souths chief executive Blake Solly told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Everyone at the club is invested in getting the best from Latrell on the field this season.”
On top of the meeting with officials, Demetriou will reportedly also speak to Mitchell.
Demetriou has previously been accused of being too soft on Mitchell.
His inability to rein in Mitchell was cited as one of the main reasons club great Sam Burgess left Souths in dramatic circumstances in August to coach Super League side Warrington.
Burgess would no doubt be a contender to step in and replace Demetriou, who was handed a three-year contract extension in October, if Souths cannot arrest their alarming side.
Melbourne great Cameron Smith said on Monday the Souths squad were clearly “unsettled” and were playing below their ability.
“If you line (Souths’ list) up against any other team in the comp, they’re just not playing anywhere near their capabilities,” Smith said on SEN1170.
“You need all 17 players on board with what your coach is wanting to do.
“If you have a couple of players not wanting to be a part of that, then it’s a struggle. It doesn’t matter who you play against.
“When I’m watching the Rabbitohs, who’ve got so many elite players, they are lacking energy and they look like they’re going through the motions.
“When they’ve got the football, it’s like, ‘Well, here, pass the ball, you do it’.
“I’ve got no faith in backing them at the moment against anyone.”
Since May last year, when Souths sat atop the competition, the club has been beset by issues.
In the intervening 11 months, Souths have conceded an average of 28 points per game and registered just five wins.
Mitchell’s discipline — on and off the field — has been at the forefront.
The fullback missed several weeks with a calf injury and was ruled out of must-win games late last season for hitting Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell with an elbow.
This season he ended up in an ugly and very public exchange with Anthony Mundine after weighing in on Spencer Leniu-Ezra Mam “monkey” saga.
And he also made news from dropping multiple swear words during a radio interview on Triple M after the game Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium in round two.
– With AAP