Today we take a look at the debate over when Latrell Mitchell should serve his ban, another incredible Wests Tigers victory at Leichhardt Oval, and the debacle of a system that sees the naming of Immortals.
Read on as we tackle some of the big talking points in this week's Real or Not.
Latrell should be made to serve his ban once he is fit to play
NOT REAL: The time for Latrell Mitchell to respond to his NRL Breach Notice is up and we now await the official penalty. Talk is that he will be hit with a one-game ban and a hefty fine. Debate now ranges over when he should be made to serve that ban.
There have been calls for the ban to be served immediately, as the rules state, even though Mitchell will not play again this season through injury. It's a bit of dilemma, because a player of Mitchell's stature should not be seen to be scamming the system when it comes to avoiding punishment for an incident that is so damaging to the league.
Mitchell is one of the biggest names in the game, if ever a player should be expected to be a role model, it is him. He represents the heights that a player can reach when combining natural talent and hard work. He provides a blueprint for every kid currently sweet stepping their way through baffled defences in every Australian country town. For those kids to see him allegedly partaking in illegal pursuits is bad enough, for him to get away with it by serving his ban during a period when he is injured anyway is completely sending the wrong message.
But how would you ensure that Mitchell serves his ban from when he is available to play anyway? The club determines when he is available to play. The Rabbitohs can simply name him for the final two rounds of the season and his suspension can commence then, even if he realistically wasn't able to play. It is why the ban should be way more than a solitary week. Precedents have been set for much longer sentences. Mitchell should be handed at least six weeks, which would take him into next season regardless of when he started serving it.
Leichhardt Oval is the home of rugby league miracles
REAL: The Tigers were hoping for a miracle on Thursday night as they hosted the Sea Eagles, desperately hoping to take enough points from the last rounds to hand the wooden spoon over to the Eels.
They started the night two competition points behind Parramatta, with a bye guaranteeing them two points next week, before what could be a final round loser-takes-all-clash with the Eels. Within the first 12 minutes, in front of another healthy home crowd, they had allowed Manly to score tries in opposite corners through some awful backline defence -- it looked like being a long night.
It was a week when the Tigers had announced seven new signings, a mixture of promising youngsters and a few older players who had been plying their trade in the lower grades elsewhere. With Jahrome Luai and Sunia Turuva the feature names on their way to Concord for next year, this less auspicious list suggested the Tigers were ready to drop some ballast. They were certainly keen to drop the wooden spoon.
With 17 minutes remaining in the first half, Tom Trbojevic was over for Manly's third try after Ethan Bullemor split the Tigers down the middle with his first touch of the ball after coming off the bench. Things were looking grim, but Api Koroisau soon made up for his defensive lapse with his own try under the posts to put the Tigers 10 points down after the conversion.
With 11 minutes to go before the break, and Tigers fans on the hill cheering a run of possession for their beloved team, young fullback Heath Mason crashed over in the corner. The conversion brought the score to 16-12 in Manly's favour, but the visitors would soon be a man down with Bullemor sent to the sin bin.
Early in the second half after the Sea Eagles were reduced to 11 players when Haumole Olakau'atu was sent to the bin for a dubious high tackle, Tigers bench forward Alex Seyfarth cut through what was left of the defence to score under the posts. The Tigers hit the lead 18-12. With the Sea Eagles back to 12 men, Latu Fainu scored after a Lachlan Galvin kick rebounded off a Manly player's legs. With the Sea Eagles back to 13 men, another Galvin kick saw Solomona Faataape score. The Tigers were up 30-16, having scored 30 unanswered points. Did someone say Leichhardt Oval miracle?
With 15 minutes to go and Manly having fought back through another Tom Trbojevic try, Corey Waddell became the third Sea Eagle to visit the sin bin. Don't talk about miracles to Tom Trbojevic, he crossed again for his hat trick to take the Sea Eagles within four points down 30-26. With three minutes remaining he tore them apart again, passed it to Olakau'atu who threw a high ball to Jason Saab who dropped it cold with the packed hill celebrating behind him.
As the clock wound down Samuela Fainu crashed over to score the match-winner. We had witnessed another Leichhardt Oval miracle, albeit with a healthy dose of sin bin assistance. The future looks a little bit brighter for the Tigers as they try to finish off the season well, before launching their whole new look in 2025.
Coote's inclusion was way overdue in flawed honour
REAL: Ron Coote has been named the 14th Rugby League Immortal, beating the likes of Cameron Smith, Darren Lockyer, Allan Langer, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Johnathan Thurston and Ken Irvine to the honour.
Coote's career was a little before my time, but I have seen a documentary that included highlights of the grand finals he dominated during that period. One thing the narrator said that has stuck with me, was that there was rarely a game that Coote played in that he wasn't among the best players on the field. In the grainy black and white footage, the lanky frame of Coote is seen everywhere. When not slicing his way through defensive lines, he can be seen cutting down players with perfectly executed cover tackles.
During an 11-year period between 1965 and 1975, he played in nine deciders, winning seven of them, four with the Rabbitohs and two with the Roosters. He also represented New South Wales 15 times and Australia on 23 occasions, during a remarkable 14-year career.
Coote was emotional following the presentation at the gala dinner at the SCG.
"I'm a bit taken for words," a tearful Coote said.
"I never thought I would be crying when I was (almost) 80, but I am.
"For me it's just sensational. I never thought it would happen. I've been at this function a few times and this time I have got the gong."
Why did one of the greatest players of all time have to wait so long for recognition? And why was he put through the torture of invite after invite to Hall of Fame nights not knowing if he was ever going to be given the honour?
The whole Immortals concept is completely haphazard in its construction. Initially created by the editors of the now defunct Rugby League Week, four players were named in 1981 (Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper). Another two were added in 1999 (Graeme Langlands and Wally Lewis), one in 2003 (Arthur Beetson), and one in 2012 (Andrew Johns), before the Australian Rugby League Commission took over in 2017 and then named five more additions in 2018 (Dave Brown, Frank Burge, Mal Meninga, Dally Messenger and Norm Provan). Now six years later one more name has been added.
With various judges added and removed over the years, and the time between additions and the number of additions seemingly completely random, making the list is still an achievement to be very proud of, even if taken with the necessary grain of salt. Add too many names and the tag "Immortal" loses its impact. Skip older players to name more recent ones to give the concept greater relevance to younger fans and you also sully the concept. The whole thing is a complete mess, but one thing is for certain, no man is more deserving of the Immortal tag than Ron Coote.