South star sidelined for months with major injury, Bennett backs Latrell to revive career

South Sydney captain Cameron Murray may be out of the field for five months due to a wrist injury.

Murray, who is currently representing the Kangaroos in the Pacific Championship tournament, suffered an injury in camp probably won’t be back until marchAs a result he will miss the entire pre-season and possibly the first few matches of Souths’ 2025 campaign.

It is a blow to the hopes of super coach Wayne Bennett returning for his second stint with South Sydney after signing a three-year deal with the Cardinal and Myrtle.

Souths missed the finals in 2023 and 2024, with a poor start to the latter season spelling the end for former coach Jason Demetriou.

Bennett backs Latrell to regain top form

More encouraging news for Souths supporters is that Latrell Mitchell has already been sweating it out in off-season training as he attempts to get his career back on track with Bennett confident that the troubled fullback will be a part of 2025. Can return to its best performance.

The 27-year-old star fullback has reportedly set up a home gym with weights, yoga mats and a sauna after removing the bar area to get back to peak fitness for next season.

Mitchell is not due to begin pre-season training until the end of next month, but his 2024 campaign was derailed by fitness concerns and then the white-powder scandal, when he was photographed in an objectionable position, former NSW and The Australian representative is making every possible effort to restore his image.

He has already lost 5kg from his bulky frame to better prepare himself for the high level of fitness required to play fullback at NRL level.

Bennett said newscorp He was confident that Mitchell would silence his critics the following season.

The NRL rejected South Sydney’s application to have Mitchell serve a white-powder suspension in the final round of last season, pushing the ban back to Round 1.

In addition to his ban, Mitchell must pay $20,000 in fines imposed by the NRL and a $20,000 advance to the Rabbitohs for his white-powder saga.

“Latrell’s fitness won’t be an issue for me,” Bennett said. “I haven’t talked to Latrell lately, but it’s great to hear if he’s in shape.

“He has been treated (with white-powder sanctions) by the NRL and the club. I’m not there with Latrell right now but I’ll know a lot about him in a month.”

Mitchell was reportedly close to being sacked after it was revealed to the board that the Rabbitohs would be fined an additional $80,000 if their star player committed the offense again.

Latrell Mitchell. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The white-powder saga is set to cap a miserable year for both Mitchell and the 15th-placed Rabbitohs, who finished in the bottom four just two years after making the preliminary final.

Mitchell raised eyebrows with an expletive-laden radio cross in March, then missed three games after raising his elbow to Shawn Johnson’s face, while coach Jason Demetriou was fired the following month, replaced by interim Ben Hornby. Went.

He returned to form to star for NSW in the second State of Origin match, but suffered a foot injury in the round-18 win over Parramatta and missed game three.

“They’re all professionals and Ben Hornby did a great job at the end of the season,” Bennett said. “The Southern team was in a tough situation (after Demetriu was out), but they came out of it and they are a strong team again.”