Round 21 tips: Huge Latrell Mitchell blow as Rabbitohs scratch him from Broncos clash
Latrell Mitchell is a late scratching from what would have been his return match in a huge blow for the Rabbitohs.
The star fullback has been out since tearing his calf in NSW camp days before State of Origin I and he has been sidelined since, despite several false starts when a return has been mooted.
With Souths coming off a bye last week, coach Jason Demetriou had been confident the fullback would be right to go for Friday night's clash against the Broncos but a day out from the game the 'Ferrari' was again put on ice.
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Latrell Mitchell looks on during the round 17 match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and North Queensland Cowboys. Getty
"Latrell won't play," Demetriou said. "He hasn't trained with the team a lot, and he only had the one full session with the team on Tuesday. There's no pressure from us for him to play this weekend. We want him right.
"The performance staff would rather him get through another week of training. He's itching to play. He'll get another Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday session in if we err on the side of the caution, and that's what we'll do. He'll definitely be back next week.
"Blake slots straight into the back, and Tallis Duncan comes onto the bench."
Those team changes will likely swing the bookmakers in favour of the Broncos, who have been boosted by the return of superstar front-rower Payne Haas from an ankle injury.
Prior to the news that Latrell would again be missing from the Rabbitohs line-up, the Redfern based team were the bookies' favourites despite taking the home match to Broncos territory, at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
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Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth's Tips, which was filmed prior to the Mitchell injury update, both Fittler and Johns picked Souths to prevail in a "cracking game".
"Traditionally this surface is really fast - yep, it's going to be fine (weather) - so this will be a real open affair, an absolute sensational game," Johns said.
"They're all back," added Fittler. "Latrell, Jai Arrow, Campbell Graham, Payne Haas, all of them.
"It's going to be a cracking game."
Sitting on 24 points, equal with seventh placed Parramatta and ninth placed North Queensland, the Rabbitohs can't afford any slip ups on the run home, making the call to take this home game away from
Scroll below for the current leaderboard and Round 21 tips by all Nine's expert tipsters!
Nine's NRL tipping leaderboard. Nine
Andrew Johns: Dragons, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Titans, Knights, Cowboys, Panthers, Sea Eagles
Brad Fittler: Dragons, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Billy Slater: Dragons, Warriors, Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Darren Lockyer: Dragons, Warriors, Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
James Bracey: Dragons, Warriors, Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Allana Ferguson: Dragons, Warriors, Souths, Titans, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Mat Thompson: Tigers, Warriors, Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Danika Mason: Dragons, Raiders, Rabbitohs, Titans, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
David Middleton: Dragons, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Peter Psaltis: Dragons, Warriors, Broncos, Titans, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sea Eagles
The Mole: Dragons, Warriors, Rabbitohs, Titans, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks
Ben Glover: Dragons, Warriors, Broncos, Roosters, Storm, Cowboys, Panthers, Sea Eagles
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