Concerned Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou calls out Latrell Mitchell after lack of involvement

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou thinks superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell needs to inject himself into the competition early on after a slow start came back to bite his side on Friday night.

South Sydney were off the pace in the first half against a desperate Melbourne who dug deep into defense and stifled the hosts on the edge despite the Rabbitohs enjoying 67 per cent of territory.

Demetriou lamented his team’s defensive mistakes in the 18-10 loss, but it was their attack that really struggled.

Mitchell came alive with a try assist, 81-meter dash and five takedowns in the second half, but saw virtually no sight in the first 40 minutes.

He made just 27 meters from three carries as the crowd begged him to get more involved.

Mitchell practically lost his sight in the first 40 minutes Friday against the Storm.

“He probably needs to find his way in the game a little bit sooner,” Demetriou said.

‘I thought at the end of the first half he started to get into the game a little bit more.

‘I thought overall we were a bit off the beat. When we all started to pick up the pace and play the way we can, the pressure from the scoreboard got the better of us.’

The loss leaves the Rabbitohs with just two wins from the first five NRL rounds and a big game against the Bulldogs on Good Friday is coming up.

The pressure will be on Mitchell, Cody Walker and Damien Cook to address the team’s attacking woes, but the talented trio need more of their big men to create some sort of platform.

Only two South Sydney forwards ran over 100 meters compared to the Storm, whose starting five forwards all broke triple figures.

The Rabbitohs can point to the fact that Jai Arrow, Junior Tatola, Siliva Havili, Liam Knight and Shaquai Mitchell are out injured, but the problem is that none of them are likely to be fit for next week’s game at Accor Stadium. .

The Rabbitohs walk injured before their Good Friday clash with the Bulldogs

And to make matters worse, winger Alex Johnston looks set to miss the match after he came off late in Friday’s loss and hit his head on the grass trying to score in the corner.

“I think Jay [Arrow] and junior [Tatola] there’s a week or so left so these guys who played [on Friday] They’re going to have to be the guys stripping down next week,” Demetriou said.

“We have to be honest with ourselves in terms of how we approach the game and get in the right mindset.

“It doesn’t matter who you play in the NRL – if you don’t show up to start the game then you’re going to be on the defensive and then you have to catch up.”