South Sydney’s horror year has taken another unfortunate turn, with the NRL hitting Latrell Mitchell with a breach notice.
The injured Rabbitohs fullback was in Dubbo last weekend where he hosted some coaching clinics before he is believed to have stayed over for the night in the city.
"The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been made aware of a photograph circulating through social media of Latrell Mitchell," the club noted earlier this week.
Latrell Mitchell white powder photo: NRL hit Rabbitohs fullback with breach notice
Following an integrity unit investigation, the NRL has formally sanctioned Mitchell.
The 27-year-old has five days to respond to the breach notice before specific sanctions are proposed
“The particulars of the breach notice are that Mitchell featured in imagery, which emerged publicly on 12 August 2024, which depicted him acting in a manner which has brought the game into disrepute,” an NRL statement said on Thursday afternoon.
There is no suggestion the white substance was an illicit drug.
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The image shows Mitchell hunched over a table with a white substance in his vicinity.
Mitchell has missed the past five games for the Bunnies as well as the State of Origin decider for New South Wales.
The No.1 picked up a foot injury during his side’s Round 18 victory over Parramatta – their fifth win in a row at the time as they attempted to pull off a remarkable surge into the finals.
However, since the 27-year-old has been sidelined, interim coach Ben Hornby has managed to preside over just one win from their last five matches.
It’s been a disastrous campaign for the Rabbitohs so far as they axed Jason Demetriou halfway through the season, plummeted to 15th place on the ladder and been without Mitchell for the majority of the year.
Will Latrell Mitchell be banned by the NRL?
Mitchell has played just 11 games to date for the club with a mixture of injuries and suspensions plaguing his season.
He served a three-week ban for elbowing Shaun Johnson in the head earlier in the season as the Bunnies got off to a horrid start before he suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury last month.
With the NRL now formally hitting him with a breach notice, he could find himself in more trouble.
Valentine Holmes was banned for one game and issued with a $25,000 fine after an image of him in possession of a white powder circulated on social media last year.
Holmes claimed the image was a prank gone wrong.
"It is alleged Holmes engaged in conduct which has brought the game and his club into disrepute by publicly associating the game with illegal drugs," the NRL noted at the time.
The Sporting News has opted not to publish the photo of Mitchell.
