Updated ,first published
Wayne Bennett has praised Latrell Mitchellโs maturity after the star centre ruled himself out of the State of Origin opener due to a back injury โ a decision that will give him the best possible chance to get back in contention for game two.
Mitchell made the tough call to place himself off-limits for NSW on Sunday afternoon, just hours before coach Laurie Daley and his coaching staff were due to finalise their 20-man squad.
Brisbaneโs Kotoni Staggs and Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton will be the centre pairing in the series opener at Accor Stadium next Wednesday night.
Bennett said Mitchellโs injury was not a long-term concern, and that he was expected to return after the bye in round 14 against Manly. Mitchell will have 80 minutes to convince Daley he deserves an immediate recall.
As it stands, the injured trio of Mitchell, Brisbane prop Payne Haas (knee), and Panthers back-rower Liam Martin (knee) will all be available for Origin II in Melbourne on June 17.
โIโve got no doubts Latrell was keen to play for NSW, but at the same time he realised he couldnโt do the job properly โ if he canโt play his part properly, he doesnโt want to let anyone down,โ Bennett said on Monday.
โHe doesnโt want to let his club down, and he doesnโt want to let his state down.
โHeโs been in great form. Weโd all love to see him play, but the bottom line is heโs at the age and place in his life where heโs mature enough to say, โIf Iโm going to help my club and NSW, I need to get myself sorted out, and Iโve got an opportunity over the next couple of weeks to do thatโ. It was very selfless.
โHeโs made a good decision. He wonโt play this week, and with the bye, heโll have three weeks before he has to play again, and that will clear it all up.โ
Blues staff were open to giving Mitchell a modified training program in camp to ensure he was ready by kick-off.
NSW medicos confirmed on Monday none of the 20 players in camp were carrying any niggles, which is a rarity in rugby league at this time of season. Haas and winger Brian Toโo managed injuries in the corresponding camp last year.
South Sydney captain Cam Murray, who ended up the only Rabbitohs player in the NSW team after Keaon Koloamatangi missed out and Campbell Graham was unavailable because of a calf strain, said the enforced rest would only benefit the Bunnies and the Blues.
โIt would have been a hard decision to say no to a NSW jersey, but Latrell knew he wasnโt right, and he wanted to give some of the other in-form and healthy players an opportunity to perform at the highest level you can play,โ Murray said.
โIโm proud of the way heโs handled it. Heโs been among the top five players in the NRL to start the year. The level of intensity he plays at takes a toll on your body; now itโs a matter of playing the best he can while also maintaining a healthy body.โ
Mitchell was below his high standards against the Dolphins, and started to wince in pain with the last few carries before he came from the field with less than ten minutes remaining.
Manly winger Hopoate facing ban for contact with referee
Manly winger Lehi Hopoate has been charged by the NRL match committee over a collision with referee Grant Atkins in his sideโs win over Wests Tigers on Saturday.
The 21-year-old was in pursuit of a Jamal Fogarty bomb during the first half of the Sea Eaglesโ 46-18 victory when he ran into the back of the whistle-blower.
The contact sent Atkins tumbling to the Suncorp Stadium turf.
Hopoate, who was put on report by the referee, was hit with a grade-two contrary conduct charge on Sunday and will be suspended for a game with an early guilty plea.
He stands to be banned for two matches if he contests the charge at the judiciary and loses.
Manly were on Sunday weighing up whether to push for a downgrade, believing the contact with Atkins to have been accidental.
There were eyebrows raised at the resurgent club at the grading, given that Brisbane hooker Cory Paix escaped a charge for a tackle in which Manly forward Siosiua Taukeiahoโs leg was broken a week earlier.
The Sea Eagles requested that the ARL Commission use its special powers to overturn that decision, but their bid was unsuccessful.
Hopoate also featured in another incident that came to the attention of the match review committee.
Tigers centre Patrick Herbert received a grade-two dangerous tackle charge for a head slam on the winger in the 46th minute.
He will be suspended for two games with an early guilty plea and three games if his case is thrown out at the judiciary.
It shapes as another setback for the depleted Tigers, who have been without a handful of their best players through injury and suspension and have let in 142 points in the past three weeks.
Herbert also copped a separate grade-one charge for a grapple tackle on Manly back-rower Ben Trbojevic, but faces an $1800 fine rather than time on the sideline for that tackle.
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Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
