Wayne Bennett, the coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has firmly dismissed the idea that Latrell Mitchell's upcoming contract should include special clauses linked to his injury history.
Mitchell's current contract will expire at the conclusion of the 2027 NRL season, allowing him to negotiate with other teams starting November 1 if Souths hasn't secured his signature by then.
During the week, speculation surfaced suggesting that Mitchell's ongoing struggle with injuries throughout his seven-year tenure at the club might affect his value for the 2028 season.
Since joining in 2020, Mitchell has participated in 95 games with the Rabbitohs, compared to 96 games played with the Sydney Roosters from 2016 to 2019.
Despite his uneven performance record since arriving at Redfern, Bennett characterized the suggestion of linking his contract to game appearances as a "terrible" concept.
"It's a terrible idea. I'm not interested in that," Bennett stated during a press conference on Thursday.
He went on to explain, "It's just a bit of misfortune that players have problems. It's not because him or Tom don't do all the work and all the training or whatever."
Furthermore, Bennett asserted, "You've either got a contract or you haven't, you're not going to make one up for how many games you play or something like that."
He concluded firmly, "That's not going to happen. Not in the good clubs, anyway."