The NRL has cast the blowtorch on Latrell Mitchell after the South Sydney superstar aggravated an incident late in the Rabbitohs’ win over the Knights on Friday.
South Sydney’s clash with Newcastle in the Hunter, won by the Rabbitohs 40-28, ended in chaotic scenes when Knights prop David Klemmer was sent off in the dying seconds of the game.
Referee Todd Smith marched the former Bulldog from the field for elbowing Daniel Suluka-Fifita in the head as he tackled the Rabbitohs forward, just moments after a dust-up with Keaon Koloamatangi.
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The whistleblower didn’t penalise Mitchell despite the fact he raced in to defend Suluka-Fifita, grabbing Klemmer’s jumper and pulling him off his teammate.
But NRL head of football Graham Annesley condemned Mitchell when speaking to media on Monday.
“It’s always a concern when players come in,” Annesley said.
“Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting Latrell did anything other than run in and try to pull Klemmer off, but that in itself, in any incident, whether it’s Latrell Mitchell or any other player in any other game … a player running in and grabbing a player and trying to pull them … even if they’re trying to separate players, our advice is always if you’re not in it, stay out of it.
“It’s much easier for the referee to handle if he’s only dealing with two players than he is with a mass of players.
“What tends to happen is when one player decides to run in, whether it’s with good intentions or not, if he’s coming in to try to help restore order, they follow from both sides.
“Then we get all this kind of grabbing and holding each other by the jersey and trying to push each other off, and then the referee’s got a much bigger incident to try to resolve.”
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That’s exactly what happened late in the Knights-Rabbitohs clash.
Mitchell, filling in for Cameron Murray as South Sydney captain, tore in from fullback, triggering a swarm of Rabbitohs and Knights jerseys.
“The Bunker has to look at a lot more and when they are under time constraints things can get missed in that situation,” Annesley added.
“Again, it’s difficult, again, it’s the heat of the moment. Players are passionate and (if) they see one of their teammates in an incident and they want to either try to protect them or they want to ensure that nothing else happens to them, then they will at times run in.”
Annesley fired a warning Mitchell’s way.
“We do see players getting charged for that sort of action, we do see players going to the sin bin for that type of action,” Annesley said.
“My recommendation would be to any player that wants to make sure they don’t find themselves in the sin bin and don’t want to find themselves charged is if you’re not involved in the incident, stay out of it.”
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Mitchell was reported for a high tackle on Dominic Young but the match review committee didn’t see any issue with it.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou slammed the referee’s decision to report Mitchell as “ridiculous”.
South Sydney is placed seventh on the ladder after 17 rounds and is now set to meet Canterbury at Homebush on Sunday.
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