Souths are right to make Latrell prove his price
Latrell must prove he is worth fullback money
Latrell Mitchell going to market on November 1 is surprising, but South Sydney are right to hold their nerve. He remains a devastating strike player, yet at centre he can essentially influence the game only when the ball reaches his edge, probably one tackle in every six.
That is not marquee involvement. Mitchell originally received marquee money to play fullback, but his body has broken down under that workload and moving him to centre has clearly reduced his value. He is a centre seeking fullback money.
The numbers hurt his case. His best season at Souths is 17 appearances from 24, achieved twice, while his past three seasons produced totals of 11, 11 and 12 games. These were not all lost to one catastrophic injury; calf, nerve and back problems have repeatedly removed him for weeks at a time.
I tend to think Souths encouraged him to test the market, and I suspect they have already made a preliminary offer. Let rival clubs decide what limited availability and uncertain positional value are worth. Souths need not bid against themselves.
Lowballing Walker makes no football sense
I think South Sydney are lowballing Cody Walker, and the size of the offer surprises me. He is worth well above $300,000 in any market because his football brain has not aged with his legs.
Walker is the quintessential ball-player. Like Cliff Lyons, he improves when he slows down, holds the defence and finds the correct runner; opponents can see the play developing and still cannot stop it.
He also appears to have remained available throughout the season except for suspension and the final-game calf injury.
I thought Walker would play more bench football this year, but he sustained his energy. Under a six-man bench system he could become even more dangerous, entering after 20 or 25 minutes, just before tired opposition middles begin rotating. Keep him, but at the right value.
Bennett is cleaning up the standards
I suspect Wayne Bennett’s fingerprints are all over South Sydney’s contract squeeze. He controls a salary cap brutally well because he knows the ceiling for every position and refuses to bend it for sentiment.
He also understands how to handle powerful personalities. During his previous stint, when Mitchell or Walker became lackadaisical at training, Bennett would privately tear strips off them inside the leadership group, then return outside, put an arm around them and publicly show affection. Mitchell would resume training hard and everybody followed.
Jason Demetriou did not see those private reprimands. Sam Burgess later complained that training attitudes were slackening and standards weakening, which exposed the danger of influential players no longer receiving the necessary kick up the backside.
Souths now face a hard choice: break through within two years or rebuild without Mitchell and Walker. Bennett may be telling both men they can stay only for less money, freeing funds for other players. The persistent talk is that Tom Dearden still wants Sydney, possibly for 2028, and Mitchell’s market permission also concerns 2028. Add a State of Origin-quality halfback and Souths become a different side.
The game cannot abandon Mick Neil
Rugby league loves boasting that it protects its own. Now it must prove it by helping Mick Neil.
The game has rallied around Jai Arrow after his devastating motor neurone disease prognosis, offering money, services and travel assistance. That instinct is exactly right. Yet Neil, one of the game’s great characters and an all-effort 69-kilogram warrior for the Tigers, is living with Parkinson’s disease in a halfway house at Burwood and struggling to feed himself.
Gary Freeman and other former Tigers visit regularly. Freeman approached Family of League seeking help and was essentially told to return when Neil became worse. That is astounding.
Neil is proud and is not personally begging. Others are doing it for him because his future is bleak and he gave everything to the game. Family of League must reconsider immediately. Help should arrive before complete collapse, not afterwards.
Klein deserved consequences — not a bigger bunker
Ashley Klein’s final mistake was inexcusable, but expanding the bunker because of one miss would be emotional stupidity.
Klein missed the Frizell escort that most people believed deserved a penalty directly in front, potentially costing the Warriors their season. Accountability matters. Yet Klein was still the better referee across the weekend’s two games, while Adam Gee called 11 six-agains and nearly wore out his whistle early.
The bunker could not intervene because the rules required a break in play. Good. Unrestricted intervention would drive everybody mad, particularly when players already manipulate reviews. James Fisher-Harris dropped the ball, then reached for his neck; the replay exposed neck pressure and produced a crusher penalty without officials examining whether he had simply knocked on.
Technology does not remove human error. It merely relocates it to another room, where vision can still be blocked or unclear. The bunker was never capable of fixing every decision, and granting it more power will only suffocate the contest.
Strip it back to try-scoring moments. Let the rest of the game breathe.
Fresh legs have won the finals gamble
Trent Robinson’s decision to rest nine Roosters in the final round has been justified. They defended strongly against Penrith, then handled Cronulla impressively, although I will not get carried away because Cronulla underperformed.
Sam Walker is expected to be named and play. The selection question is simple: if his injured leg can handle the required kilometres and finish the match, pick him. If he plays, the Roosters will have their entire squad available for the first time this season, although they now meet a Dolphins side that is fit, firing and full of energy.
Penrith earned a two-week break and should return close to full freshness, but their secrecy around Nathan Cleary’s injury invites suspicion. They have called it stress rather than a fracture without clearly identifying the bone or severity, and there is talk he will not kick goals to reduce pressure on the foot. I still think he gets through the game.
The Knights also look fresh because winning kills fatigue. Their energy, improvement and run of victories over more favoured teams have numbed whatever injuries remain. Momentum is real when players can feel it.
