Wendell Sailor comes clean on Latrell Mitchell confrontation after Braith Anasta news
The Souths fullback has been annoyed by the commentary around his struggling side.
Wendell Sailor says Braith Anasta is not the only NRL pundit that Latrell Mitchell has taken exception to, with the league great revealing his own run-in with the superstar South Sydney fullback before the season. Sailor's revelation comes after reports emerged this week that Mitchell confronted NRL 360 host Anasta at a Sydney restaurant this week over comments the former premiership winner made about the fullback and his struggling Rabbitohs.
The Daily Telegraph reported this week that Mitchell and Anasta ran into one another at Sydney restaurant Chin Chin on Wednesday night, where the Bunnies superstar pulled the TV host aside and asked to have a chat with him outside over some of the TV host's negativity around the Bunnies. The report says the discussion between the pair was animated but never turned physical and that Mitchell took exception to Anasta's analysis of the Rabbitohs.
Anasta has previously questioned Latrell's shortcomings at fullback and pointed out some of the things he doesn't do in defence that many of the top fullbacks in the game do. He has also consistently called for Mitchell to return to the centres, considering he won two premierships with the Roosters playing there and young livewire Jye Gray has emerged as an exciting option at No.1 for South Sydney.
According to the reports, Mitchell's gripe with Anasta revolved around his belief that some of the NRL 360 host's criticism had become personal. Speaking about the matter on Triple M’s The Rush Hour on Friday, Broncos and Dragons great Sailor said he'd also been approached by the Rabbitohs superstar before the season and called out over his negative comments.
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“I understand where Latrell is coming from,” Sailor said on Triple M. “Latrell is a person who isn’t going to step back. In the pre-season Latrell had the same sort of thing with me. He asked if I could be a bit more positive in and around the game. I was at a pub and Latrell brought it up with me.
"He wasn’t being aggressive with me. But just asked me to be a bit more positive. (I) Just said that I had a job to do and (it's) nothing personal, it’s my opinion. I said, ‘I’m a fan of you Latrell but when things happen, I get asked for an opinion’, like Braith. I don’t think it’s personal with Braith on Latrell. I respect that Latrell can come talk to us and have that opinion.”
Struggling Rabbitohs under the spotlight in 2024
Anasta's role as host of Fox League's NRL 360 program is to facilitate discussions with the regular panel of experts and weigh in on some of the biggest talking points in the game. Unfortunately for Mitchell and the Rabbitohs, a large chunk of that has centred around the team's worrying form slump that's seen them lose 15 of their last 20 matches, including eight losses in nine in 2024 to leave them sitting bottom of the ladder.
Jason Demetriou was sacked as Rabbitohs coach earlier in the season and Ben Hornby is still searching for his first win since taking charge as interim coach for the remainder of 2024. The Rabbitohs - who come up against the Cowboys in Magic Round on Saturday night - reportedly agreed on a three-year deal to bring master coach Wayne Bennett back to the club he led to the 2021 grand final.
Bennett has met with the Rabbitohs but refuted media reports this week that he had already agreed to the deal, reportedly worth $1 million per season. Rabbitohs powerbrokers are expected to hold more talks at the conclusion of this weekend's Magic Round to home in on the coach, who has been their No.1 target to replace his former protege, Demetriou.
