South Sydney's Latrell Mitchell refuses to tone down aggression ahead of NRL suspension return

Latrell Mitchell is adamant he does not need to rein in his aggression, with the South Sydney star approved to return a week early from his six-match suspension.

Mitchell has been cleared to return in round two against the Melbourne Storm.

The NRL judiciary decided on Tuesday his absence from the All Stars match earlier this month could count towards his ban.

The rule works in the same way players are able to have State of Origin matches count towards suspension, if the judiciary chairman agrees players would have featured in the fixture if they were not banned.

Mitchell was handed the six-match ban for his high shot on Roosters centre Joey Manu in round 24 last year, the incident being his fourth charge of the 2021 season.

The suspension — impacted by previous offences — forced Mitchell to miss the Rabbitohs' finals campaign in which they reached the season decider, only to lose to Penrith 14-12.

The Manu incident prompted calls for Mitchell to change his style or else face more bans, but Rabbitohs players have long said they want the fullback's aggression to stay.

Mitchell said he did not need to change his game.

«I'll keep playing the way I do,» he said.

«I don't see why I have to [change]. It's the game of rugby league. I entertain. I sell tickets, so that's what I aim to do.

»You can have 10 good things, and in a split second you can do one thing wrong. But that's how the game is."

Mitchell's lengthy ban prompted calls for a review of the NRL judiciary system, with the Rabbitohs in particular frustrated by the impact of weighting of penalties.

Under current rules, players are hit with a 50 per cent loading on any charge if they have committed a similar offence in the past two years, or 20 per cent for non-similar charges.

Withou