Latrell Mitchell Ends 18-Month Ban After Wayne Bennett Talks
Latrell Mitchell ended his 18-month self-imposed media ban on Tuesday and spoke to reporters for the first time since 2024. The Rabbitohs centre’s return to the front of the microphone comes as he leads the NRL in points and linebreak assists, has 11 tries in eight games and is being discussed as a certain starter for Laurie Daley’s Blues.
Wayne Bennett and Mitchell
Wayne Bennett was behind the decision, and Mitchell and the coach agreed it was the ideal time for him to speak again before Campbell Graham’s 150-game milestone against the Sharks on Saturday. Mitchell had refused to speak to reporters before games or at post-match press conferences during the ban, which began after an expletive-laden interview to Triple M radio after a game in 2024.
The timing fits the form line. Mitchell has been the standout centre over the first nine rounds after shifting from fullback to centre this year, and his production has put him back in the middle of Origin talk rather than on the edge of it.
Mitchell’s 2024 silence
His absence from media duties stretched for 18 months, a run that went against NRL rules and kept one of the game’s most watched players out of routine pre-match and post-match availability. The ban followed a public slip that shut him out of that setting, but Tuesday brought the reset after talks with Bennett.
Paul Crawley said on NRL 360 on Tuesday night: “My understanding is he sat down and had a talk with Wayne about it and they thought, now’s the time, you’re in good form, Origin’s coming up, let’s break the ice” and “And I think if he handles it well, it won’t be a burden for him, but sometimes he’s just been too honest for his own good. As a young man, he would come out and say some things that maybe just went a little bit too far or patted himself on the back a bit too much and I think at times it’s probably blown up in his face.”
Origin Form for Laurie Daley
Braith Anasta said: “Trellavision is back, not only is he back on our screens talking to us, but he’s definitely back in a big way this year” and “I don’t know if he has been in better form”. That is the pressure point now: Mitchell is back in the media at the same time he is pushing through one of the strongest stretches of his Rabbitohs career.
Mitchell also told Bennett, “wherever you want to put me coach, I’ll play there,” a line that matches the way his season has been framed since the move to centre. For Souths, the immediate change is simple enough — their top centre is available for questions again — but the bigger edge is that his availability now runs alongside Origin selection talk, not away from it.
