{"id":903710,"date":"2026-09-24T12:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903710\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T12:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T12:22:12","slug":"go-tomorrow-why-latrells-shock-bears-switch-makes-sense-as-1-7m-nov-1-frenzy-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903710\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Go tomorrow\u2019: Why Latrell\u2019s shock Bears switch makes sense as $1.7m Nov 1 frenzy nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could Latrell Mitchell really entertain a move west to Perth<\/a>? <\/p>\n

According to one pundit, the superstar centre should consider taking any potential Bears offer \u201ctomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n

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It was reportedon Thursday that Perth are prepared to match Mitchell\u2019s current deal with Souths of $1.1 million a season, not including any ratchet clauses tied to the future increase of the salary cap.<\/p>\n

The Bears\u2019 interest comes following South Sydney\u2019s call to put off any extension talks with Mitchell until next year.<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite Perth circling, Souths CEO Blake Solly confirmed the club were willing to be patient when it comes to sorting out Mitchell\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old is contracted until the end of next season, meaning he\u2019ll hit the open market from November 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cLatrell has a real opportunity to continue his return from the back injury in the World Cup, with the Kangaroos,\u201d Solly told CODE.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met Latrell and his management to confirm our position earlier in the week. Once his rep duties are complete and he finishes the pre-season, we\u2019ll sit down again and discuss his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, we are happy to allow Latrell the opportunity to play at the World Cup without any distractions and have a great pre-season before we talk again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bears circle Rabbitohs superstar | 00:33<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a statement like that, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if they give him permission to negotiate,\u201d NRL360 host Braith Anasta said in response to Solly\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey aren\u2019t going to go to Latrell until after the World Cup now, well, you\u2019re going to have to, because they\u2019ve pretty much given him permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s seemingly a lot of water to go under the bridge before Mitchell makes a decision on his future, the Bears have nothing to lose expressing their keen interest in one of the game\u2019s most devastating players.<\/p>\n

Perth have yet to land a big fish ahead of their inaugural season in 2027 and are expected to languish near the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n

CODE Sports journalist Dean Ritchie says that the Bears have the funds to potentially entice Mitchell before explaining why it would be a move that benefits both parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he (Mitchell) can get $1.2 million with the ability through a ratchet clause and salary cap increase and third parties in Perth that can take him up to $1.7 million a year, he should go tomorrow,\u201d Ritchie said on NRL360.<\/p>\n

\u201cLatrell has always disliked the fishbowl of Sydney. He\u2019s always disliked the media scrutiny and the attention. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is perfect. This gets Latrell out of the dogfight in Sydney and gets him over to Perth where he can earn some big bucks and reset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell is the biggest name set to hit the start of the free agency window.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

However, Mitchell\u2019s former teammate Luke Keary finds it hard to see that happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a good move from Perth. They\u2019re looking for a poster boy and there\u2019s none bigger,\u201d Keary said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut knowing Latrell and I know him well, he won\u2019t want to leave Souths.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to be close to home (Taree), he gets back as much as possible, he\u2019s a family man. He wants to be around home. It\u2019d be a huge move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell headlines several superstars set to hit the open market in just over a month\u2019s time. <\/p>\n

Outside backs is a particularly rich area for NRL teams to potentially feast on. In addition to Mitchell, Herbie Farnworth, Jack Bostock, Jack Howarth, Xavier Coates and Bradman Best are expected to reach November 1 unsigned by their current clubs.<\/p>\n

It led Keary to float a few teams other than Perth who could make a play at Mitchell if he considers a shock Souths exit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a huge November 1 for centres off contract. Herbie Farnworth will hit November 1, Bradman Best, Jack Bostock,\u201d Keary said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eels, the Knights are in the running if Best leaves, the Dragons could do with an outside back. The Broncos will be looking to bring in one of those centres. There may be a big move there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Could Latrell Mitchell really entertain a move west to Perth? According to one pundit, the superstar centre should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-903710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}