Latrell Mitchell apologises to South Sydney Rabbitohs teammates as coach Jason Demetriou battles to save job

“He loves the game, mate,” Wighton said. “Everyone sit tight. Watch him in the near future. That’s all I can say.

“He’s one reason I come here, he’s a big part of the team, we’ll miss him.

“We’re also very excited about a kid [Jye Gray] who has been in the system the last couple of years here at the club and gets to debut.

“I think Cody [Walker] asked Jye if he’s the shortest player in history. We’ll have to check on that. We might have a new club record.

“He [Mitchell] is doing his part now, he’s in this position – he’s put himself in this predicament – so he’s doing the next big thing, which is to get everyone else ready.”

Mitchell completed extras at the end of training and will meet with Souths officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss how much desire he has to help the club off the bottom of the ladder. Early retirement will not be on the agenda.

Pocket rocket Gray will debut at fullback while winger Tyrone Munro, 19, and 23-year-old Peter Mamouzelos are both expected to start for the first time this season.

Souths fans will be familiar with Gray, who starred in the Charity Shield then got a late call-up to join the squad in Las Vegas. Teammates joked about 170cm Gray only having to pay a child’s fare to the US.

Munro returns to the left wing after overcoming an ankle injury. He is of the few players who can challenge Gray in a foot race.

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And Mamouzelos trained with the first team at dummy-half, with regular rake Damien Cook expected to be relegated to the bench for the second time this season.

Demetriou needs a win against the Sharks or risks being axed just six games into the season. Souths have won just five of their past 20 NRL games.

Wighton backed Souths and Demetriou to turn things around immediately.

“I’ve got no regrets [about joining Souths], I’m not a quitter, I’m here with the boys, so what else do you do? Backs are against the wall and you go for it,” he said.

“I always had ‘Stick’s’ [Canberra coach Ricky Stuart] back, and I’ll have the back of whoever is my coach. ‘JD’ gave me an opportunity to come here, and he’s been nothing but good to me. We’ve got his back and he’s got ours.”

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