Latrell Mitchell has once again escaped a sanction for an ugly act against the Dragons on Saturday night, but the NRL could still yet take action. Mitchell was at his brilliant best in South Sydney’s 30-12 victory, scoring four tries to hand the Dragons their 11th loss in a row and seventh this year.
But he once again committed an ‘unnecessary’ act that had the potential to cause serious injury to an opponent. Early in the first half with Souths up 4-0, Mitchell was called off-side on a Cody Walker grubber towards the in-goal.
Latrell Mitchell is walking a suspension tightrope ahead of State of Origin. Image: Getty/Fox League
Well after the whistle had already been blown, Mitchell grabbed Dragons half Daniel Atkinson and flung him back towards the in-goal, sending him crashing into the post. Dragons players remonstrated with Mitchell, who appeared to regret his actions.
“The game was already stopped,” Steve Roach said in commentary for Fox League. “I think he regretted it after he did it. A little bit of a brain explosion.”
Another commentator described it as “unnecessary”, while other fans had some much stronger words. Because the Dragons had already received the penalty, Mitchell didn’t receive any punishment.
NRL could hit Latrell Mitchell with ‘concerning act’ notice
The match review committee didn’t deem it worthy of a fine on Sunday, meaning Mitchell escaped what could have been his third charge of the season. With State of Origin just five weeks away, Laurie Daley and the Blues can ill-afford to lose Mitchell to suspension. He’s been one of the form centres of the season so far and will walk into the NSW team for Origin 1 if available.
But with two charges already this season, he’s walking a suspension tightrope. He also managed to avoid a sanction for diving into the legs of Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey beyond the dead-ball line in Round 6 – an incident that left fans fuming and could have caused serious damage.
Latrell Mitchell flung Daniel Atkinson into the goal-post after the whistle had been blown. Image: Fox League
At the very least he might receive a ‘concerning notice’ act from NRL headquarters, which players often receive for acts that don’t draw a punishment but deserve to be called out. After the Tracey and Atkinson incidents, it might be time for the NRL to act.
Meanwhile, Dragons forward Jaydn Su’A has copped a three-game ban after he was sent-off for a shoulder charge that hit Cameron Murray in the head. Peter Mamouzelos and Emre Guler both copped two separate fines, while Wayde Egan, Patrick Herbert and Brendan Piakura were also fined from Saturday’s other games.
Wayne Bennett heaps praise on Latrell Mitchell
Souths coach Wayne Bennett praised Mitchell for his performance on Saturday night, which came after Matt Dufty was chosen to replace injured fullback Jye Gray rather than Latrell. “I’m just really proud of him, Latrell,” said Bennett.
“He likes to play fullback but we made a decision earlier in the season about his position in the centres. We had to make one change to that backline today, which was outstanding.”