Latrell facing uphill battle to play a game before Origin II side is picked

Latrell Mitchell is unlikely to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs when they next turn out in Round 14, meaning that he’s long odds to play the second State of Origin match some weeks later as he struggles with a lingering back injury.

The Rabbitohs had earmarked their match against Manly on Thursday next week for Latrell’s return from his recovery, but things aren’t progressing as fast as South Sydney originally hoped. Instead, he may miss several more games before he’s OK — and that will mean he may play no rugby league before what will be a key Origin clash in June.

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Obviously, that dents South’s chances in their next few matches as well, especially in that battle against Keiran Foran’s red-hot “Fozball” Manly side, as well as a Thursday evening clash at Accor Stadium against champions the Broncos in Round 15.

But New South Wales fans will be most worried about his availability for Origin. He would have been an instant selection for Laurie Daley in game two, no matter how the game tonight goes, but will now likely be overlooked for incumbents Stephen Crichton and Kotoni Staggs, as long as they hold good accounts of themselves in the series opener.

The Rabbitohs have yet to circle a proper NRL return date for Latrell, at the time of writing.

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The Souths star first picked up his lingering back injury while playing against Newcastle. He was then expected to back up quite quickly against the Cronulla Sharks, but was ruled out late on after being named to play. The original prognosis back then was that Mitchell would be out for a week or two at worst, but that has obviously ballooned out somewhat since.

“NSW Rugby League can confirm Rabbitohs centre Latrell Mitchell contacted Laurie Daley today to rule himself out of contention for Game One of the 2026 Ampol State of Origin Series,” the NSWRL wrote at the time.

“Mitchell advised Daley and his club officials he was not 100% fit and did not want to let down his state or club.”

Other injured bunnies include superstars David Fifita, Alex Johnston, and Jack Wighton.