South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell has stated he won't be changing his game style despite criticism following last year's tackle which knocked out Joseph Manu.
Hit with a six-match ban after the Rabbitohs' Round 24 match against the Sydney Roosters for his high shot, Mitchell won't return until Round 3 this year (brought forward to Round 2 on appeal, with the All Stars match now to count as part of his six-game sentence).
Despite this, Mitchell is convinced he does not need to change his game.
“I’ll keep playing the way I do,” Mitchell told AAP.
“I don’t see why I have to. It’s the game of rugby league, I entertain. I sell tickets, so that’s what I aim to do."
“You can have 10 good things, and in a split second, you can do one thing wrong. But that’s how the game is.”
It isn't just the Manu hit that has folks wondering if it's time for Mitchell to reign it in.
If the Manu incident was his first, Mitchell would only have been suspended three matches and available for the grand final that his side went on to lose against the Penrith Panthers.
It was his previous transgressions and the loading they bought that landed Mitchell the three extra matches.
When asked about the judiciary and its processes, Mitchell held back.
“The process is a bit unfair, but I don’t really want to comment on that,” Mitchell said.
“It’s just how the game is and I have got over it. We’ll leave it in the back pocket, it’s a bit of fuel.
“I don’t want to comment (more) on that, that is (for) the NRL.
“They have to take it on board and have accountability for what is going on. I have to keep playing the game and keep entertaining.”
He won’t change his attitude and that’s his right, the NRL certainly won’t be changing theirs and that’s their right. So I suppose there can only be one outcome for the “entertainer” … and they say he’s matured.