Souths coach Jason Demetriou has defended Latrell Mitchell against the barrage of Roosters fans’ repeated booing by pointing out the Tri-colours’ former Bunnies players don’t cop the same abuse.
Mitchell was booed every time he touched the ball in the Rabbitohs’ Round 25 clash with the Roosters and while some of that was down to his tackle on Joey Manu last season, Demetriou believes it has gone too far.
“We put players up for media and they get asked questions and Latrell is as honest as the day is long,” Demetriou said on NRL 360 after Mitchell called out Roosters fans.
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“He has answered it in how he felt and obviously that has made headlines.
“He is a fantastic role model. He is a great player at our club. We love having him here.
“It is easy to say fans boo players and it is OK, but I think when it is getting to the level that Latrell copped we probably need to be a bit more concerned about it.”
Demetriou elaborated to The Sydney Morning Herald that Mitchell deserves more respect for what he brings to the game both on and off the field.
“We ask people to speak, then we bring them down if they do,” Demetriou told the Herald.
“It’s easy for people to say, ‘it’s their right to boo’, but when you’re on the receiving end of what he’s on, it’s a pretty different story.
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“We’re not talking about the odd heckle – we’re talking about a consistent amount of disrespect in my eyes.
“He was still out on the field 40 minutes after full-time the other night, signing autographs and taking photos, and being respectful to the people in the crowd from both teams.
“That side of Latrell deserves a bit more respect.”
Roosters playmaker Luke Keary defended the fans’ right to boo players, but Demetriou pointed out that Souths fans don’t boo their former players in Keary and Angus Crichton.
“A lot of it stems from playing at the club in previous years,” Demetriou said.
“But so did Luke Keary, he was a grand final winner here and left, but he doesn’t get treated like that by our supporters.
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“Angus Crichton was here. From what I’ve seen, our supporters are respectful to both those guys.
“Latrell, two premierships at the Roosters, he gave them a lot of exciting times, and other than the Manu accidental tackle, I just don’t know see what justifies it.”
Paul Kent questioned Demetriou on how he has handled Mitchell this week, so that his emotions don’t get the better of him in Sunday’s do or die final.
“Just on that your concern. He is a highly emotional player. He’s highly sensitive. Hew has in some ways I would say antagonised the Roosters fans with some of the things that he has said and done in recent times,” Kent said.
“How do you ensure that he is mentally in the right spot for the game this weekend?”
“It is pretty easy, we are making sure that he is focused on his role,” Demetriou replied.
“We spoke to our leaders today and leadership this time of year is all about doing your job and leading with your actions out on the footy field.
“He was outstanding at training on Tuesday and he was really good on Thursday. Really zoned in on what his role is and what he needs to do for the team.
“The rest of it is white noise but it is around this time of year it is what builds the drama and excitement and we embrace it.
“But ultimately come Sunday it will be about what he and the rest of his teammates do in that 80 minutes.”
“Have some of the things he has said worried you?” Kent persisted.
“Not really, just making sure he is OK first and foremost,” Demetriou said.
“Latrell is still maturing. He is 25. He is still getting a handle on how he speaks and what he wants to say to the media.
“But at the same time we love his honesty. We want players to get up there and be honest. What else do we want from them? Do we want them to sit there and give out the stock standard answers that everybody doesn’t want to hear or do we want them to be honest?
“With Latrell you get honesty and sometimes that comes back against him, but he handles it pretty well.”
Despite his calls for Roosters fans to show Mitchell more respect, Demetriou and his star player know that more of the same could be coming on Sunday.
“Yeah probably the same,” Demetriou said when asked how Mitchell will be treated.
“The question was how did he feel about it? And he spoke honestly about it, but he also said he understands it.
“He understands that he is going to get more of it and I’m sure his teammates will as well, but I’m expecting there will be a fair few more Souths supporters there this weekend and the crowd will be a bit more 50/50, so there will be a lot of cheering going on as well.”
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