The South Sydney Rabbitohs have been dealt a significant blow to their winning chances on Friday night against the Brisbane Broncos, with star fullback Latrell Mitchell ruled out of the showdown.
Scheduled to play when the team lists were announced on Tuesday afternoon, everyone was eager to see him go head to head with Reece Walsh in a 'Battle of the Fullbacks'.
Although Mitchell will miss the clash, there has been no fresh tear of the calf or even a setback, per The Sydney Morning Herald. The decision to delay his return is to just give him an extra week to reach full fitness and train with the first-grade team.
“Latrell won't play,” Demetriou said via The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He hasn't trained with the team a lot, and he only had the one full session with the team on Tuesday. There's no pressure from us for him to play this weekend. We want him right.
“The performance staff would rather him get through another week of training. He's itching to play. He'll get another Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday session in if we err on the side of the caution, and that's what we'll do. He'll definitely be back next week.
“Blake slots straight into the back, and Tallis Duncan comes onto the bench.”
Both sides will welcome back a flurry of stars for the clash from either Origin duties, injuries or suspension.
The Rabbitohs have regained NSW Blues quartet Cameron Murray, Cody Walker, Damien Cook and Keaon Koloamatangi, star injured duo Jai Arrow and Campbell Graham, as well as forwards Hame Sele and Jacob Host.
While their opponents, the Brisbane Broncos, will welcome back representative trio Reece Walsh (suspension), Payne Haas (ankle) and Patrick Carrigan (calf) for the game.