South Sydney are on a collision course with the NRL over what the Rabbitohs see as the exploitation of their star Latrell Mitchell.
The Rabbitohs have been privately seething for months about the NRL’s approach to Mitchell. There have been a number of flashpoints, but it peaked at when NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was asked about the scheduling of Souths’ match against Sydney Roosters.
Abdo did little to hide his delight at the timing of the game, which is scheduled for round three when Mitchell returns from a ban for his hit on Joey Manu.
The smile on Abdo’s face when he delivered the news was what irked Souths as much as the scheduling of the match.
The clash between Manu and Mitchell was one of the most dramatic on-field moments of the year, one that still divides the two clubs – and fans. Mitchell missed the Rabbitohs’ run to the grand final and will sit out the first two games of 2022 after he pleaded guilty to a grade-two reckless high tackle for the hit that left Manu with a fractured eye socket.
Souths claim there has been no real consideration given to Mitchell in the scheduling of the rematch – quite the opposite – and that he is being exploited.
Souths chief executive Blake Solly chose his words carefully.
“The NRL are quick to utilise Latrell and his profile to market the competition or ask him to take a leadership position on issues such as vaccination – when it benefits them,” he said. “It would be more impressive if they were as quick to protect and defend him from some of the outrageous personal criticism and abuse he receives at other times.”
Solly and the Rabbitohs were privately seething at the game’s bosses – Abdo in particular, who said Mitchell should have been sent off – for the way they reacted to the incident. That the NRL publicly criticised the match officials prior to Mitchell’s case being concluded annoyed Souths, but they bit their tongue.
The last comment Solly made about racist attacks on Mitchell is a direct reference to a real sore point at Souths that has lingered for two years. It relates to a story first raised in this column when Mitchell was asked to wear an Indigenous flag in the return of the Simply The Best ad campaign, without prior consultation with Souths or Mitchell. The Souths star posing draped in the flag became a focal point of the heavily criticised commercial and Mitchell was left to handle the fallout.
“I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect by smiling or my comments,” Abdo said. “The draw throws up lots of situations and we don’t focus on one individual. I was smiling because it wasn’t something that was planned for or I had thought about.
The Rabbitohs have been privately seething for months about the NRL’s approach to Mitchell. There have been a number of flashpoints, but it peaked at when NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was asked about the scheduling of Souths’ match against Sydney Roosters.
Abdo did little to hide his delight at the timing of the game, which is scheduled for round three when Mitchell returns from a ban for his hit on Joey Manu.
The smile on Abdo’s face when he delivered the news was what irked Souths as much as the scheduling of the match.
The clash between Manu and Mitchell was one of the most dramatic on-field moments of the year, one that still divides the two clubs – and fans. Mitchell missed the Rabbitohs’ run to the grand final and will sit out the first two games of 2022 after he pleaded guilty to a grade-two reckless high tackle for the hit that left Manu with a fractured eye socket.
Souths claim there has been no real consideration given to Mitchell in the scheduling of the rematch – quite the opposite – and that he is being exploited.
Souths chief executive Blake Solly chose his words carefully.
“The NRL are quick to utilise Latrell and his profile to market the competition or ask him to take a leadership position on issues such as vaccination – when it benefits them,” he said. “It would be more impressive if they were as quick to protect and defend him from some of the outrageous personal criticism and abuse he receives at other times.”
Solly and the Rabbitohs were privately seething at the game’s bosses – Abdo in particular, who said Mitchell should have been sent off – for the way they reacted to the incident. That the NRL publicly criticised the match officials prior to Mitchell’s case being concluded annoyed Souths, but they bit their tongue.
The last comment Solly made about racist attacks on Mitchell is a direct reference to a real sore point at Souths that has lingered for two years. It relates to a story first raised in this column when Mitchell was asked to wear an Indigenous flag in the return of the Simply The Best ad campaign, without prior consultation with Souths or Mitchell. The Souths star posing draped in the flag became a focal point of the heavily criticised commercial and Mitchell was left to handle the fallout.
“I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect by smiling or my comments,” Abdo said. “The draw throws up lots of situations and we don’t focus on one individual. I was smiling because it wasn’t something that was planned for or I had thought about.
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