The NRL’s hip drop drama has gone into overdrive with Latrell Mitchell binned in Souths’ 42-26 win over Parramatta – while Joe Ofahengaue was not for what looked like a very similar tackle.
It comes a night after Valentine Holmes was sat down for ten minutes in the Cowboys’ victory over the Wests Tigers for the same tackle but not banned, while David Klemmer escaped without sanction at the time but was slapped with a long ban the morning after.
Mitchell is theoretically available for Origin, though by no means likely to get picked given his indifferent form in 2024.
For what it’s worth, he was much better tonight with several key interventions and, ironically given injuries elsewhere in the Blues squad, ended up playing 6.
The man himself
“All our players are available,” said interim coach Ben Hornby.
“If NSW want them, they’re there. I’m expecting Latrell and Cody (Walker) to make the team. They’re good enough players and they’ve shown before they should make the team.
“I know who I wouldn’t want to be playing against if I was playing.”
It might end up moot anyway after the hip drop incident, because much as these things are a crapshoot with the judiciary, it did look like Mitchell lost his feet and he landed cleanly on the back of Sean Russell’s legs and he has plenty of priors.
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