Phil Gould smashes Latrell Mitchell and Souths in astonishing attack (2024)

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Phil Gould has made the shocking prediction that Latrell Mitchell will never turn over a new leaf and stop being a controversy magnet - as he laid the blame for the star's white powder photo scandal squarely at the feet of his NRL club South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs fullback is facing sanctions from the NRL while his club is considering taking harsh steps with his contract after his latest alleged off-field incident.

Mitchell was hit with a breach notice by the NRL and ordered to attend a meeting with the Rabbitohs board after a photo was leaked of him in a hotel room with a mystery white powder.

The image was taken in Dubbo, where Mitchell was carrying out coaching clinics and community work.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest the powder was an illicit drug.

South Sydney powerbrokers have reportedly grown frustrated that their investment into Mitchell is going unrewarded after he spent large parts of the 2024 season suspended or out injured.

He has also attracted attention for the wrong reasons for making demands about the Spencer Leniu and Ezra Mam racial slur scandal before it had gone to the judiciary and for a foul-mouthed interview on Triple M radio.

While Souths are likely to clamp down hard in order to get the best out of their star fullback, Bulldogs boss and NRL doyen Gould believes it is too late for him to change.

'Is it too late for him to be a professional athlete that does everything right? 100 per cent it is,'he said on Nine's 100% Footy.

And Gould blames South Sydney for enabling Mitchell and allowing him to find himself in situations that put himself and the club in a bad light.

'Are South Sydney going to take any responsibility here? Why does Latrell act the way he acts? Why does Latrell get involved in things he's not supposed to be involved in?' Gould asked.

'He's so outspoken. Why isn't Latrell at South Sydney games? Because Souths don't make him. No one at Souths is holding Latrell responsible.

'Now they're going to come in and fine the bloke and put certain clauses in his contract, I find that really rich from the South Sydney club.

'Latrell behaves the way Latrell behaves, because he's allowed to behave like that.

'The club never pull him up. Has anyone at the club ever pulled him in, sat him down, and said you can't do these things, you can't do certain things, you're not doing the right things by yourself, you're not doing the right things by the club?'

Mastercoach Wayne Bennett will return to Redfern next season and has already vowed to take Mitchell under his wing.

'I'Il look forward to it. I will be there for him and I hope I can give them the help he needs,' Bennett said.

But Gould said not even Bennett would be the silver bullet Souths need to rein in their wayward star.

'No doubt Wayne Bennett's going to South Sydney to win, so he needs Latrell,' he said.

'So he'll make all the excuses for Latrell and suddenly he's going to sprinkle magic dust on him and Latrell's going to behave and everyone can live life happily ever after but that's a cop out.

'This has been going on for a long, long time right throughout Latrell's career and there is a lot of people responsible for it.

'Most of it is Latrell ... he's the one that's got to be accountable. So now the excuse if Wayne's coming, I'll be accountable. It won't, it'll happen again.'

NRL