South Sydney’s premiership hopes have been dealt a heavy blow with Latrell Mitchell ruled out for eight weeks, which also means Brad Fittler will need to find a new centre for the State of Origin series opener.
Blake Taaffe is likely to fill in at fullback for the Rabbitohs while Mitchell is sidelined but it’s an unwelcome headache for rookie coach Jason Demetriou with his team 2-3 for the season on the back of Saturday night’s victory over struggling St George Illawarra.
Mitchell was a near certain selection for the Blues at centre, along with another specialist fullback Tom Trbojevic, with skipper James Tedesco the incumbent in the No.1 jersey.
He is virtually no chance of being fit for the June 8 Origin I showdown with Queensland at Accor Stadium.
Fittler has several options with Canberra’s Jack Wighton able to slot into the centres or he could pick a specialist like Mitchell’s Souths teammate Campbell Graham, Brisbane speedster Kotoni Staggs, Penrith’s Stephen Crichton or St George Illawarra’s Zac Lomax, who have both been part of Origin camps in recent years but are yet to make their debut.
Cronulla’s Jesse Ramien has been in strong form this season and could be an option while Newcastle’s Bradman Best is viewed as an Origin player of the future.
The Rabbitohs announced on Monday that scans had confirmed Mitchell tore his hamstring during the emphatic 24-12 win over the Dragons. He reported feeling a pull in his hamstring and the MRI revealed it was in the tendon, not the muscle, which means the recovery will be a lot slower.
Front-rower Mark Nicholls has undergone surgery after suffering a syndesmosis injury the previous week and the veteran forward is looking to return in the first week or two of June, similar to Mitchell.