Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler faces a tough call over Latrell Mitchell after the star South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback was not picked to make his return against St George Illawarra Dragons tomorrow night.
Mitchell has been sidelined since suffering a serious hamstring injury against the Dragons in Round Five which saw the Rabbitohs send him to the United States recently to work with a leading medical specialist for treatment.
He was expected to make his comeback last round but that was derailed after he contracted COVID-19 and he has been ruled out of tomorrow night’s game under the NRL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Fittler will select his team on Sunday night for Game Two of the Ampol State of Origin series in Perth on Sunday 26 June and will have to decide if he selects Mitchell for the must-win clash without a NRL game under his belt since early April.
The NSW Blues coach was keeping his cards close to his chest on Channel Nine on Sunday when asked about the possibility of Mitchell playing in Game Two.
“I think we first wait and see what he’s doing with South Sydney,” Fittler said.
“He’s obviously a South Sydney player until State of Origin is on. I’ve spoken to (Rabbitohs coach) Jason (Demetriou) before and their trainer is on our staff so we have a pretty good look at how Latrell is and what he's capable of doing.
“I think everyone would like to see Latrell play at this next level, he's a great player, and he loves playing at that level.”
Mitchell was a standout for NSW last season and walked away with the True Blue award after coming up with several big plays which helped the Blues to a 2-1 series win.
