Joseph Manu’s family say they “feel sorry” for Latrell Mitchell, pleading for social media users to stop the attacks on the South Sydney star for his shocking tackle on their son in Friday night’s thriller at Suncorp.
Despite his son currently sitting in hospital with severe facial fractures, Manu’s father, Nooroa, has delivered a heartfelt response as the bad blood between the Roosters and Bunnies continues to boil.
“We actually feel sorry for Latrell,” Nooroa told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s copping a lot of abuse and we don’t want that happening. We want to make sure he’s going to be all right too.
“He’s very talented and we know his family, they are really good people. That’s just how we feel and it’s up to Joey how he feels. It was just unfortunate [what happened on Friday night]. Joey is ready to move forward and we’re happy as a family. I think the main thing is we move on.”
It comes just hours after Roosters captain James Tedesco urged his Blues teammate to learn to curb his aggression, as the South Sydney fullback accepted a six-week ban for an early guilty plea, ending his season.
“Latrell wouldn’t do it on purpose but its forceful contact to the head and whether its accidental or not, it causes someone a fair amount of bones in his face… it must be pretty forceful to the head,” Tedesco said.
“You just can’t do that.
“Fire and passion is what makes him such a great player but you don’t want to be breaking people’s faces.”
Manu had three plates inserted into his fractured cheekbone during surgery on Saturday and took to social media on Sunday to claim he was on the road to recovery.
On his Instagram account on Sunday Manu thanked “everyone for all the support & kind messages. I’m in good spirits and recovering well.”
https://twitter.com/NRLonNine/status/1431817645737848833
Mitchell has reportedly sent Manu a text message since the contentious tackle.