Rabbitohs chairman Nick Pappas has fired back at Phil Rothfield after the veteran journalist called Latrell Mitchell’s match-winning pass “three metres” forward.
The incredible triple cut-out pass to Isaiah Tass who scored in the corner to beat arch rivals the Roosters at the death has divided the NRL world.
Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
The referees deemed Mitchell’s pinpoint pass backwards out of the hands but plenty of onlookers agreed with Rothfield that it was clearly forward. The Bunker cannot rule on forward passes.
“Latrell passed the ball on the line – Tass caught the ball THREE metres past the line = forward pass,” Rothfield tweeted.
Pappas replied to the tweet to give Rothfield an unsolicited lesson in physics.
“Let me step in here, Phil. Physics 101 – if a player has forward velocity, that velocity is transferred to the ball, ie the ball will move forward relative to the ground. Or, throw a ball backwards from a moving car. The ball will move forward relative to the road. Simples,” he said.
The debate then kicked off again on NRL 360 on Monday night with Braith Anasta and Dan Ginnane backing Rothfield, while journalist Brent Read agreed with Pappas.
“I’ve got absolutely no doubt it was forward, but it was a great play by Latrell, it was adventurous, it was a game-changer,” Rothfield said.
“It was a forward pass, if you pass a ball from the 10-metre line, that’s where his feet were when he stopped, and he catches it four metres downfield, Tass, it’s forward.”
Anasta then pulled up the Twitter exchange on the big screen.
“Can I just say this – Nick Pappas is a great lawyer. But my goodness, it was a forward pass,” Rothfield said.
“No Buzz, it was backward out of the hands, it doesn’t matter what the ball does after it leaves the hands,” Read hit back.
“A forward pass is dictated whether it goes forward or backwards out of the hands and that clearly goes backwards out of his hands.”
Latrell could make halves switch | 01:07
MORE NRL NEWS
TEAM TIPS: Missing $650k exile sparks Latrell call; Chook’s spot on ‘life support’
HOOPS: How Dogs busted premiership myth as unlikely hero emerges as Origin bolter
RABBITOHS CHAOS: Bunnies backline in disarray after brutal triple blow
TALKERS: Walsh change to ignite Broncos title charge; Panthers’ ‘fractures’ exposed
Anasta and Ginnane then pressed Read on his take.
“Latrell Mitchell, generational talent and this play is iconic. Game on the line against his old club, the rival club, and he comes up with the big play, it’s special. But are you saying without doubt that is going backwards out of his hands?” Anasta said.
“I slightly lean towards it’s probably forward, probably, 60-40. My point is, I don’t want to hear talk of we’ve got to bring video technology in on passes like this. The angle on a camera on the 50m line, you can’t make a decision one way or the other on that,” Ginnane said.
“And that’s why there’s not a rule that allows the bunker to adjudicate because if they’d had a look and stopped we’d be blowing up,” Rothfield responded.
“There was talk years ago they were going to put a chip in the football like a GPS but that won’t be happening. So I think we have to live with the decisions like that and I can guarantee you we’ll see instances at Brookvale, Accor, CommBank and every ground, an identical pass and more than half will be pulled back.”
“It wasn’t picked up in the commentary and nobody thought it was forward until the 40th replay. And that’s not Nick Pappas’ theory. That’s a physics theory,” Read said.
“If that’s pulled up and Souths go on to lose, I don’t think people are pulling up the way people are blowing up now,” Ginnane said.
Reynolds cleared of hamstring injury | 00:23
MORE NRL NEWS
CRAWLS: Manly’s next $1m time bomb exposed; refs’ ‘mind boggling’ Latrell blunder
‘UNCALLED FOR’: NRL investigating Hasler’s blow-up over sin bin crackdown
‘NO EXPLANATION’: DCE refusal upsets teammates as Manly’s big ‘problem’ emerges
‘BLATANT’: Knights star escapes ban for ‘blatant’ trip brain fade on Dogs playmaker
Ginnane then pointed out this case is part of a bigger problem.
“Can I be honest? We are missing a lot of forward passes,” he said.
“My argument is yeah we can look at that and probably say it went a little bit forward but there were three or four other passes in that game that were forward,” Anasta agreed.
“So if you want to go back and dissect the game and pick it to pieces there were quite a few, but this was a big moment and the touch judge was right there.”
Watch LIVE coverage of the 2025 Betfred Super League season on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer
Discussion about this post