Latrell Mitchell suspended in double blow for Rabbitohs

South Sydney’s tough season has taken another blow, with fullback Latrell Mitchell facing a suspension following a high tackle during the Rabbitohs’ 24–16 loss to Melbourne on Friday night.

Mitchell was sent to the sin bin early in the second half after making high contact with Storm winger Sualauvi Fa’alogo.

Referee Peter Gough was quick to place Mitchell on report, describing the incident as “direct contact with the shoulder, moderate force, on report, in the bin.”

Fa’alogo was taken from the field for a head injury assessment (HIA), which he subsequently failed, ruling him out of Melbourne’s Magic Round clash against Canberra due to the NRL’s mandatory 11-day concussion stand-down.

The NRL match review committee handed Mitchell a grade 2 dangerous contact charge.

The fullback will cop a one-match ban with an early guilty plea.

However, if he contends the charge at the judiciary, the Rabbitohs skipper will risk a two-match suspension, which would see him miss the upcoming fixtures against Newcastle and Brisbane.

Friday’s sin bin marked the 13th of Mitchell’s career – the most of any player in the NRL era – continuing the frustrating season of suspensions and injuries for South Sydney.

Since the start of the 2024 season, the 27-year-old Australian and Indigenous All Star has played just 15 of a possible 32 matches for Souths.

Mitchell, who captained the side on Friday, failed to front the media on post-game – neither did Souths head coach Wayne Bennett – who supposedly lost a tooth.

Instead, the Bunnies assistant coach Ben Hornby headed the post-match press conference.

‘Slow motion makes it look worse’

Hornby defended Mitchell, claiming that he tried to lower his body height in the tackle.

“I honestly didn’t get a real good look at it,” Hornby said.

“It did look like he lowered his level a fair bit, and Latrell tried to lower his level.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got nothing more to say on it because it’s going to be dealt with in the judiciary, so I’ll leave it at that.”

Hornby added that slow-motion replays make the incidents look worse than they often appear in real time.

“I thought they both tried [to mitigate the contact],” he added.

“He [Fa’alogo] was falling, and Latrell was trying to lower his level.

“When you’re watching it in slo-mo, it obviously looks a lot worse than it does when it’s split-second stuff.

“The judiciary will take care of it, and we’ll live with it,” he said.

In a statement towards the state of the adjudicating, Mitchell found unlikely support from the opposing side.

‘Not much malice in it’

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he did not believe there was any intent from Mitchell to attack the head.

“I know it’s a dangerous place to go, picking ones you think could or couldn’t have controlled it,” Bellamy said.

“But I don’t think there was too much malice in it.

“I only had a quick look at it.”

Storm captain Cameron Munster gave some feedback, noting that the slippery conditions and Fa’alogo’s movement may have contributed to the incident.

“It’s slippery out there, it’s wet, force on force, a lot of speed,” Munster said.

“Sua’s very quick, Latrell’s very big, and I don’t know where you want Latrell to go there. Sua’s obviously trying to engage him to pass and he slipped over.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get yourself out of those positions when you’re fully committed into contact.”

Mitchell’s inevitable absence compounds South Sydney’s injury crisis.

Star five-eighth Cody Walker has been sidelined for up to five weeks with a calf injury, while captain Cameron Murray, halfback Jamie Humphreys, and wingers Tyrone Munro, Mikaele Ravalawa and Alex Johnston are also out.

Things couldn’t get much more right now for the Rabbitohs, who now sit outside the top eight.