Latrell Mitchell’s shove on Storm hooker Harry Grant has caught the ire of NRL360 co-host Paul Kent who said the gun fullback “resents being tackled”.
Mitchell lashed out at his opponent during the Rabbitohs’ 28-12 Magic Round win after he was tackled while catching a Melbourne bomb.
The South Sydney superstar shoved Grant twice, who didn’t retaliate, and referee Adam Gee didn’t blow his whistle for any penalty.
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While Kent explained he doesn’t believe Mitchell’s actions deserved a sin bin — he believes the Storm should have at least earned a penalty.
“I think Latrell gets away with far more things than the normal player, that is just a normal tackle and Latrell just resents being tackled here,” Kent said.
“You cannot sin bin someone for that, that’s not a punch, it is just a shove,” The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read replied.
“You can’t be doing that Ready, you can’t be getting up and resent being tackled,” Kent said.
“The rules, Harry Grant did nothing wrong, Garlick did nothing wrong here, neither of these kids did anything wrong.
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“I am not saying a sin bin, I am saying he should have at least been penalised.”
NRL players consistently push and shove and Read believes actions like Mitchell’s are common in the modern game.
He went as far to say 20 penalties would be awarded every clash for pushing after a tackle has been made.
“If you are giving penalties for that you are giving at least 20 penalties a game… blokes get shoved all the time,” Read said.
“Come on Ready, you are off chops,” Kent said.
“It’s definitely not a sin bin, and I argue whether it is even a penalty but I am not seeing that 20 times a game,” NRL360 host Braith Anasta said.
Meanwhile, Fox League’s James Hooper believes Mitchell is able to manipulate referees much like legendary hooker Cameron Smith.
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Smith, who played 430 NRL games, was renowned for his cunning on-field tactics, playing mind games with officials on a weekly basis.
“I think Latrell has become such a big figurehead in the game that referees are a little bit wary with him, similar to when Cameron Smith played,” Hooper said.
“Cameron had that brilliant approach and demeanour where the referees, he was able to manipulate more leniency.
“I think Latrell is such a figurehead and drawcard for our game, it is like an unconscious bias.”
“You cannot resent being tackled… he jumped in the air, his foot was up and he got hit,” Kent said.
“There was nothing illegal about that tackle, he mightn’t have liked it but bad luck.
“You cannot resent being tackled, get up and play the ball, don’t start getting in to blokes.”
