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Latrell Mitchell may have played his last match of the NRL season after South Sydney opted against fighting his charge for elbowing Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell.
- Mitchell has accepted a one-match suspension
- He risked missing two matches had he challenged the charge at the judiciary
- Eighth-placed South Sydney has a bye this weekend ahead of facing the Roosters
The Rabbitohs, who have the bye this weekend, take on the Sydney Roosters in the final round of the regular season in what could be a winner-takes-all clash for a spot in the top eight.
Mitchell will be missing from their squad after the club chose to take an early guilty plea and a one-match ban for the fullback's elbow on Frizell in last Sunday's 29-10 loss to the Knights.
He was sent to the sin-bin in the 79th minute as a result of the incident.
Mitchell was charged with a grade-two dangerous contact offence and would have risked a two-week suspension if he had fought the charge and lost.
He will only play again in the NRL this year if the eighth-placed Rabbitohs qualify for the finals.
It follows a frustrating pattern for Mitchell, whose performances have come under the microscope with South Sydney's late-season form slump.
Mitchell has been sin-binned nine times across his career and the 26-year-old's efforts in defence and attack have been heavily criticised following the loss to Newcastle.
He missed nearly two months of action this season due to a calf injury and the Rabbitohs' win-loss record since he returned to the side reads 2-2.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou described Mitchell's elbow as "silly" and he will have to turn to Blake Taaffe to fill the void at fullback against the 10th-placed Roosters.
The Roosters must beat bottom-placed Wests Tigers on Saturday to ensure they keep their finals dream alive.
They will be growing in confidence following three straight wins.
AAP
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