Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr to serve match bans during Indigneous All Stars, while Ezra Mam fate unclear
Both Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr will be able to count the Indigenous All Stars game next month towards their match bans, in a major win for South Sydney and Parramatta.
Mitchell was fined $20,000 and suspended for one game after appearing in a photo with white powder during a trip to Dubbo last year but will now be able to play in round one after the NRL deemed he would have played in the February 15 exhibition match.
The NRL told all 17 clubs of its decision today.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Addo-Carr was banned for four games, one of which he served when the Bulldogs played in the NRL finals last year.
He accepted a fine for driving under the influence of drugs, which was revealed to be cocaine by police, on the eve of Canterbury’s elimination match against Manly in September.
Canterbury sacked the star after the scandal, but he has found a new home with the Eels.
He was fined $682 by police and $15,000 by the NRL over the incident, which overshadowed Canterbury’s first finals game in nearly a decade, which they went on to lose to the Sea Eagles.
Add-Carr will now debut for the Eels against Canterbury in a round three Sunday afternoon blockbuster.
It is unclear if Ezra Mam, who is due to serve a nine-game ban, will also be able to use the Indigenous All Stars as one of his banned games after it was reported last month that the NRL would not allow that.
The Broncos star was sent an NRL breach notice in December for bringing both the game and Broncos into disrepute, after his high-profile driving charges in October.
Mam’s ban looms as his most significant punishment for crossing onto the wrong side of the road and causing a head-on crash which injured a mother and daughter, while driving unlicensed on a cocktail of drugs.
The 22-year-old was subsequently fined $850 in Brisbane Magistrates Court in December, and had his license suspended for nine months.
Mam’s legal punishment has been heavily criticised as too lenient, with Queensland’s deputy premier labelling it as “a slap on the wrist”.
Last year, Souths tried to have Mitchell serve his ban for the last game of the season against the Roosters, but the NRL rejected the proposal given the star was injured despite Souths’ efforts to convince them otherwise.
