{"id":19433,"date":"2026-05-27T08:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/19433\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T08:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:46:09","slug":"nsw-and-south-sydney-cop-more-bad-news-about-latrell-mitchell-before-state-of-origin-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/19433\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW and South Sydney cop more bad news about Latrell Mitchell before State of Origin 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Latrell Mitchell is reportedly a major doubt<\/a> to be available for the NSW Blues ahead of Game 2 with his back recovery going slower than expected. Mitchell injured his back<\/a> in Round 9, but played through the pain to finish the game.<\/p>\n

The in-form Rabbitohs centre returned for NRL\u2019s<\/a> Magic Round, but was taken off after 73 minutes as he struggled. And the Rabbitohs confirmed he would be unavailable for State of Origin selection after re-injuring his back.<\/p>\n

\"Latrell<\/p>\n

Latrell Mitchell (pictured right) is reportedly a doubt to be available for State of Origin Game 2. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Getty Images)<\/p>\n

This was a major blow for Laurie Daley<\/a> and the state with Mitchell arguably producing his best footy in years leading up to Game 1. Mitchell was expected to be back in time for the Manly Sea Eagles clash in Round 14. This would give Daley an opportunity to see Mitchell\u2019s fitness before selection ahead of Game 2.<\/p>\n

However, in a brutal update for the Rabbitohs and NSW Blues, Mitchell is recovering slower than expected and could be in doubt. The Daily Telegraph<\/a> reported Mitchell might not be back in time for the Manly clash and will most likely miss Game 2 of the Origin series.<\/p>\n

This is now only a blow for the Blues ahead of Game 1, but to South Sydney. The Rabbitohs were looking strong after Round 10, but have lost two in a row without Mitchell. While they are likely to welcome back Cameron Murray from Origin duties and Campbell Graham for Round 14, they still could be without Mitchell.<\/p>\n

However, coach Wayne Bennett could welcome back David Fifita for the Manly clash. The new Rabbitohs recruit has missed a number of weeks, but will be a welcomed return after the side has lost their last two games.<\/p>\n

The Rabbitohs have a bye in Round 13 after going down to the Cowboys last week. The Rabbitohs have slipped to seventh on the ladder and are equal on 14 points with three other teams.<\/p>\n

Laurie Daley hands debuts to three backs<\/p>\n

Daley has handed out three debuts in the backline for the Origin opener. Stephen Crichton will remain at centre, while Kotoni Staggs was picked on the other side for his debut in Game 1. Manly centre and debutant Tolu Koula will play on the wing and Brian To\u2019o will feature on the side.<\/p>\n

Mitchell would most likely slot straight back into the side if fit and NSW were to lose the opener, but his fitness will now be a major concern for Daley. Ethan Strange is also set to make his debut at five-eighth alongside Nathan Cleary in the halves for the Blues.<\/p>\n

\"Kotoni\u00a0Stagg<\/p>\n

Kotoni Staggs (pictured) will make his debut for NSW. (Photo by Chris Hyde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

(Chris Hyde via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Latrell Mitchell is reportedly a major doubt to be available for the NSW Blues ahead of Game 2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2709,660,10036,798,11377,4963,3771,247],"class_list":["post-19433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-getty-images","tag-latrell-mitchell","tag-laurie-daley","tag-manly-sea-eagles","tag-nsw-blues","tag-rabbitohs","tag-state-of-origin","tag-sydney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}