Bunnies adamant Latrell ‘fit’ to serve ban, Broncos duo shown the door, Walker reveals pain of ACL tear

The NRL is set to announce whether Latrell Mitchell will be able to serve his “white powder” ban this season or in Round 1 next year after South Sydney have lodged their submission claiming he is fit for selection on Friday night.

Three separate doctors engaged by the Rabbitohs have cleared Mitchell as fit to play in the last round of the regular season but, as of late Tuesday, the league was still deliberating.

Souths interim coach Ben Hornby was initially adamant Mitchell suffered a season-ending injury in round 18, meaning any suspension would wait until 2025.

But Hornby backflipped shortly before the NRL’s sanctions were finalised last Thursday, claiming Mitchell could be fit for round 27 and therefore free to serve his ban when Souths face the Sydney Roosters.

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Mitchell did not participate in the Rabbitohs’ field session on Tuesday, riding an exercise bicycle at the club’s Heffron Park headquarters instead.

In addition to his ban, Mitchell will pay $20,000 in NRL-imposed fines and $20,000 up front to the Rabbitohs over his white-powder saga.

The Rabbitohs will trigger an additional $80,000 in fines if their star player reoffends.

Broncos duo on the way out

Brisbane forward Kobe Hetherington has five teams interested in his services after being given permission to negotiate with other clubs. 

Wests Tigers, currently on a recruitment drive, are one of the Sydney outfits keen on the versatile 25-year-old who is seeking a club where he can start and play more minutes. 

The son of former Queensland and Canterbury star Jason Hetherington is on contract with the Broncos until the end of 2025, but is set to leave a year early.

Hetherington’s manager Chris Haddad said his client had no issue with the Broncos or coach Kevin Walters. His decision is purely a professional one.

Hetherington can play on the edge or as a middle but the Broncos have only been inclined to start him when one of their regular run-on players is injured or on representative duty.

He has played 77 games for Brisbane, but in 19 of his 22 matches this year he has come off the bench.

“The Broncos have given Kobe permission to talk to other clubs but they also want a suitable replacement for him,” Haddad told AAP. 

“Kobe is a starting player and he wants to start somewhere. He loves Kevvie as a coach and as a bloke and he loves the Broncos. 

“The Broncos don’t want to lose him and if they had a starting spot for him he would stay.” 

Other clubs have also identified his workhorse mentality and knockabout Central Queensland ways.  

 “Kobe is an 80-minute player and potential Origin player,” Haddad said. 

“His character off the field is a reflection of his character on it.”

Meanwhile, veteran Broncos winger Corey Oates appears set for his final game for the club against Melbourne on Thursday night.

The 29-year-old  has played 215 games and scored 121 tries for the Broncos.

AAP reported last month Oates had not been offered a new deal and nothing has changed.

“The club haven’t come forward with an offer yet and they’ve said they probably won’t,” Oates told radio station KIIS 97.3 on Tuesday.

“I’m still hopeful I can change peoples’ minds pretty easily.

“I’ve got to go out there and perform the way I know I can. It would be nice to be offered one more year with the club.”

Walker in worst pain when knee tore

Roosters star Sam Walker has revealed he thought someone had collided with his knee when he went down in the in-goal area against Canberra on Sunday.

“The knee went on me and I felt a ‘pop’,” Walker told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I was adamant when I went into the sheds someone had hit my knee. I was convinced there had been knee on knee.

“Then I saw the footage of nobody around me, and I knew it was the force of me landing on the ground that had caused this feeling like something had exploded inside my knee. The first two minutes was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I was in complete agony. I was calling for the green whistle and medicab to start with. But then the pain went away.

“I was even saying to the physio, ‘give me a second, I might be able to run this off’. There were a few tears in the sheds, only because I knew it was our opportunity to finish in the top four, and the fact you play footy to get to this stage of the year.”

Sandon Smith has been identified as the man to replace Walker and lead the Sydney Roosters out of injury hell and into NRL finals.

Long touted as Luke Keary’s successor at the Tricolours, 21-year-old Smith has been named halfback for Friday’s clash with South Sydney, which Walker (knee), hooker Brandon Smith (knee) and Victor Radley (shoulder) will all miss following injuries in Sunday’s loss to Canberra.

Only second-rower Radley is any chance of returning again this season as key men Walker and Smith brace to miss time next season through their anterior cruciate ligament issues.

Connor Watson has been named as Smith’s replacement at hooker, having filled in periodically this year, but Zach Dockar-Clay will provide extra cover on the bench.

In-form Sitili Tupouniua fills in for Radley on the edge, with Naufahu Whyte and Fetalaiga Pauga joining the starting side in place of Nat Butcher (head knock) and Daniel Tupou (rested).

Walker’s injury has the potential to impact the Roosters’ premiership tilt most gravely; in the NRL era, no side has won the premiership without their first-choice halfback.

with AAP