South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold believes starving Latrell Mitchell of possession will be the best way to stop the red-hot Sydney Roosters star in Friday’s blockbuster.
Mitchell has emerged as arguably the in-form player for a Roosters side that have won eight of their past nine NRL matches.
Their monster run has set up a tantalising clash against the ladder-leading Rabbitohs, who have identified Mitchell as the man to stop at ANZ Stadium.
Seibold said Mitchell had carried his form over from his breakthrough State of Origin series.
“Obviously he’s been a big part of our preview this week,” he said on Thursday.
“One thing we’ve noticed is he likes getting the ball, good ball, so we need to be really strong inside our 20-metre zone because he’s scored six tries in the last couple of games.
“He’s made numerous line breaks and tackle breaks.”
So Seibold has put the onus on his playmakers to steer the run of play deep in Roosters territory, rather than allowing Mitchell to have any looks at them on their tryline.
“What we’ve got to try and do is play them down the other end, where he doesn’t carry too much down that end,” he said.
“If we can play down there, it takes him out of the game.”
With just three games remaining after this weekend, a win for the Rabbitohs would keep them on track for their first minor premiership since 1989.
But a loss would allow the Roosters to join them on 32 points and set up a grandstand finish for the J.J. Giltinan Shield.
And while the Rabbitohs have lost three of their past four against their arch rivals, Seibold is adamant he doesn’t need any more motivation for the contest.
“I understand the history of the two clubs. It’s been a fantastic rivalry between the two clubs for a long time, since 1908. I don’t have to get in there and beat the drum,” he said.
“Do we like the Roosters? No we don’t. Do they like us? No they don’t.”
Rabbitohs winger Campbell Graham is in doubt with a wrist injury, adding to a growing list of backline injuries that includes Greg Inglis, Robert Jennings and Adam Doueihi.
Braidon Burns is likely to come onto the wing should Graham fail to recover in time.