Souths coach Jason Demetriou’s authority over Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker have been called into question after the two stars again struggled in the slumping Rabbitohs’ 29-10 loss to the Knights.
It was billed as one of the games of the round, but the Rabbitohs were unable to fire many shots against a Knights team who took one step closer to a finals berth after a seventh-straight win.
The Bunnies meanwhile face a must-win game against the red-hot Roosters in Round 27. If they lose that, they’ll sensationally miss the finals.
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For a team littered with stars, it would have been hard to predict they’d be in this position.
Veteran journalist Phil Rothfield said the Rabbitohs have a number of issues, but pinpointed Mitchell and Walker as the two players who have to lift.
“Souths’ form is a worry isn’t it?” Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“To analyse it, you’ve got to look at their two stars in Latrell and Cody and look at the fact they’ve been down on form since State of Origin for Cody and since Latrell returned from his lengthy injury lay-off.
“I have a problem with their demeanour and body language on the football field. They both look so frustrated that things aren’t happening.
“Gee I thought Latrell was ordinary (against the Knights) and then you look at his stats and he ran for 169 metres and 11 tackle busts. But it is what he is doing when he doesn’t have the football or the mistakes he’s making and the tries he is giving away.
“For a player of his quality, who’s in the top ten footballers in the competition, it’s just not good enough.”
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Rothfield also wondered if coach Jason Demetriou and captain Cam Murray had the leadership ability to get the best out of Mitchell and Walker, who the journalist said were “really, really strong” personalities.
“I worry about the coach Jason Demetriou and whether he has enough authority over two really, really powerful figures at the club and having the capability of getting them out of this slump,” Rothfield said.
“I say the same thing about Cam Murray as the captain of the side. Does he have that authority to go to Cody and Latrell and say, come on pull your heads in, we’re struggling, we need you two at your best. I don’t know if he does because he’s a new captain and as I said they are really, really strong people.
“I don’t like saying this but I think it’s a fact.
“I don’t know how Demetriou or Cam Murray can sort of get them out of the position they are in right now. They don’t look happy do they?
“There are serious problems at the Rabbitohs.”
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The Rabbitohs have only managed to win three of their past nine games, with two of those victories against the lowly Dragons and Tigers.
For their patchy form, Walker and Mitchell both deserve their share of the blame, but certainly not all of it.
Lachlan Illas has been solid at times, but more often than not of late, has failed to make an impact, with Rothfield noting that star centre Campbell Graham has been quiet after a hot first half of the season.
“It’s not just those two. It’s Lachlan Illas, the young halfback as well. You see Campbell Graham yesterday and how Ponga, Bradman Best just tore him to shreds,” Rothfield said.
“Why is Campbell Graham not playing well? Why is Lachlan Illas not playing well? Cody and Latrell?
“They need to pull together. Jason Demetriou needs to do something special over the next two weeks but it comes back to their leaders, Walker and Mitchell.”
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