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“You can call me Trell Milk now.”
That was South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell’s response to the suggestion that he and other players stayed down to milk penalties in Sunday’s brutal encounter with the Sydney Roosters.
Referee Ashley Klein dished out a record seven sinbins but other incidents of players appearing to stay down to draw a penalty raised eyebrows in the spiteful clash.
At one point, Mitchell, who is known as Trell Mitt by the Rabbitohs faithful, was slow to his feet after a heavy hit by the Roosters defence.
But the fullback insisted the tackle warranted a closer look.
“You can call me Trell Milk now,” Latrell said.
“I play the game hard and tough.
“Honestly, I have never felt the forces they brought, I think they were head hunting a little bit.
“But at the end of the day, that’s the game of rugby league… if the bunker doesn’t see it, the ref doesn’t see it… that’s the game.
“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t lay down. I got up on my knee and looked at the ref thinking pretty much ‘what’s going on’.”
Mitchell did concede the bunker’s constant intervention allowed for the practice to happen but rejected the notion that his teammates were laying down in the elimination final.
“Well, the bunker has taken over the game… but that’s the game of rugby league at the moment,” Mitchell said.
“You can call it as it is but we don’t lay down for penalties we don’t look for it. It is what it is.
“Like I said, I had a situation happen in that game. For us now, it’s not to focus on what’s happened or what everyone is saying, it’s about what we can do today and tomorrow.”
Five-eighth Cody Walker said it was easy to confuse staying down for a player just simply feeling the after effects of a heavy collision or contact.
“I don’t know if many people have been hit with an arm like Jared’s (Waerea-Hargreaves) or any of those sort of guys. With the protocols and that, if you get up stumbling then you’ve got to go off. To try and gather yourself before you play the ball is quite important,” Walker said.
On Monday, the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley admitted the trend of staying down was a growing concern for the game (see below).
But Mitchell said the practice could be eradicated if match officials showed more consistency on the ruling of foul play.
“It’s semi-final footy, the refs like to put away the whistle a little bit and that’s how it should be but I guess you have to be consistent in a way where it works for both sides,” Mitchell said.
Forward Tom Burgess is facing a two-match ban with an early plea for a high shot on James Tedesco, which left the Roosters skipper unable to return to the field.
Mitchell said South Sydney officials should investigate the possibility of having the suspension deferred, in a similar fashion to Penrith winger Taylan May, who has been allowed to serve a two-match ban next season after being found guilty of assault.
“Can he serve it next year, I’ll pay his fine,” Mitchell joked.
