Latrell Mitchell’s brother says Souths ban ‘kills’ Rabbitohs superstar as club fights to save its season

It’s “killing” suspended Latrell Mitchell to watch from the sidelines as South Sydney fights to save its season, Rabbitohs prop and brother Shaq Mitchell says.

Jason Demetriou’s future looked in the balance ahead of the Rabbitohs’ final game, but Mitchell was powerless to help save his coach, having been suspended for raising his forearm towards the head of Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson a week earlier .

Souths’ valiant losing performance against Cronulla was enough to spare Demetriou the ax in the team’s final start.

But the coach may not be out of the woods yet, with tough clashes against Melbourne and Penrith in the next fortnight.

Superstar full-back Mitchell is banned from these two key matches as the 16th-placed Rabbitohs fight for their manager and their season.

“He’ll tell you himself, he hates watching,” his older brother Shaq said of Mitchell.

“He loves to play, he loves to jump with the boys.

“It’s killing him right now, but it is what it is. He hit him in the chin and he’s getting us ready to go up and hopefully when he comes back we’ll be flying.

Shaq Mitchell (left) with his brother Latrell (right) and Souths teammate Jack Wighton pictured with the Indigenous All Stars in 2023

Mitchell will be a crucial part of Souths’ revival if he comes, but he is currently suspended

Mitchell said his brother had been ‘Mr Energy’ around Heffron Park since receiving his ban and had been particularly supportive of backup fullback Jye Gray.

Little Gray impressed during pre-season and made his NRL debut as Mitchell’s replacement in the loss to the Sharks.

“He (Mitchell) is very enthusiastic, he brings energy. If everything starts to die down, he brings it back,” Shaq Mitchell said.

“He’s been in the game for a while and helps Jye-Boy. I think it’s more about letting (Gray) play his game, just saying, ‘It’s good to play your game, don’t Don’t be like me, we’re two completely different players.”

As the Rabbitohs look to reignite their campaign, speculation is swirling that Mitchell will return to the centers, where he played for the Sydney Roosters during their premierships in 2018 and 2019.

Such a move could reinvigorate Mitchell after a poor start to the year and would allow the highly-rated Gray to remain with the team long-term.

Mitchell’s older brother addressed the details of who should play fullback, but hoped there could be room for both men in the Rabbitohs squad once Latrell returns in round 10.

“Of course (Gray) should fit in there,” he added.

“Having them both on the same team is going to be very dangerous. You have the power play (Mitchell) and you also have the speedster (Gray).

Shaq Mitchell said it was “great” to move closer to a contract extension with the Rabbitohs, who handed him his debut aged 26 two seasons ago.

“I don’t really want to go anywhere,” he said.