What Heffron curse? Souths deny training ground, programs caused Latrell, Murray injuries

What Heffron curse? Souths deny training ground, programs caused Latrell, Murray injuries

South Sydney have ruled out the state of their training ground as a potential reason Cameron Murray and Latrell Mitchell suffered serious injuries within minutes of each other on Wednesday, saying the playing surface at Heffron Park was inspected just three weeks ago and labelled “perfect”.

Captain Murray will undergo Achilles surgery and is expected to miss most of the 2025 season, while Mitchell is out for up to eight weeks due to a strain in his right hamstring.

Murray’s setback has prompted Souths officials to discuss potentially entering the market for another middle forward.

Shaq Mitchell also suffered a hamstring injury during the All Stars game on Saturday night and will miss the opening rounds of the NRL season.

Sources with knowledge of the situation, not authorised to speak publicly, told this masthead the management of unhappy St George Illawarra prop Francis Molo had contacted Souths on Thursday – for the second time in a month – but would not budge on an asking price of more than $600,000 a year.

Latrell Mitchell will be out for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury.Credit: Michael Pantaleone

Souths have endured a horror run with injuries since they departed their spiritual home at Redfern Oval for their $25 million centre of excellence at Maroubra in the middle of 2023.

A lot of the injuries have occurred during games, including Jai Arrow (shoulder), Tyrone Munro (collarbone), Tevita Tatola (foot) and Campbell Graham (sternum).

However, the double blow on Wednesday, as well as a calf injury picked up by Cody Walker before Christmas, begs the question: do Souths need to do more to improve their facilities and training programs?

Advertisement

Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly said the training surface was not a concern.

“We actually got the playing surface checked by independent specialists three weeks ago, and it was perfect,” Solly said.

“Some of the soft-tissue injuries we had last pre-season were not even at Heffron Park. They happened when we were training at Redfern before Christmas whilst Heffron was unavailable.

Double injury blow: Cameron Murray and Latrell Mitchell.

“Every high-performance and coaching department reviews processes and programs regularly. What’s been interesting about our situation is there have been no two long-term injuries that have occurred in exactly the same situation. Junior Tatola’s [foot] was a freak injury, and so was Campbell’s. Cameron [wrist] and Shaq’s injuries occurred during representative games. It’s not a case of them being soft-tissue injuries affecting one specific part of the body this pre-season.

“But we’ll continue to review everything, and we have every confidence in our high-performance and coaching staff.”

Solly praised coach Wayne Bennett who kept the playing group calm and upbeat after the tough scenes involving Mitchell and Murray.

“This is where Wayne’s experience and wisdom and years of working with players comes to the fore – that’s why we got him back here,” Solly said.

“He’s remained extremely upbeat. I don’t think Wayne thinks that anything that happened yesterday will stop us from potentially winning a comp. Nobody here is writing off our season.”

The Rabbitohs travel to Mudgee to take on St George Illawarra in the Charity Shield on Saturday.

Jye Gray will start at fullback in place of Mitchell, while Lachlan Hubner will start at lock for Murray. Tallis Duncan is likely to be the starting No.13 in round one against the Dolphins.

“Latrell couldn’t have done any more to prepare himself [for the season],” Solly said.

“Wayne and I were only remarking [while] watching him move and train last Friday how good he looked and how fit he looked – his movement was the best we’ve seen from him at the club.

“We were all getting very excited. This is just one step back. It happens in professional sport, and it happens at clubs.

“I’m sure everything he’s done since August last year will stand him in really good stead to get back on the field sooner than later.

“He’s disappointed, but his attention will turn pretty quickly, knowing the ferocious competitor Latrell is, to how quickly can I get back on the field, and what are the things I need to tick off before I get there.”

As for Murray, Solly said: “One of the great things about Cameron is he’s very resilient, he’s a leader, he loves the sport and he’ll be already focusing on how quickly he can get back on the field and helping his teammates.”

Close to 10,000 fans are expected to pack Glen Willow Regional Sports Stadium to watch the two proud Sydney clubs in a clash that will include former Rabbitohs Lachie Ilias and Damien Cook taking on their old team.

Most Viewed in Sport