Blunt reply over Latrell question as Souths star responds to Wayne ...

Ben Hornby said he had not thought of Latrell Mitchell returning from suspension anywhere but fullback despite an injury to incumbent Jye Gray in Souths’ 42-12 loss to the Panthers.

Gray finished the game in a moonboot after suffering a syndesmosis injury, while halfback Dean Hawkins went off with a quad injury creating some selection headaches.

“No,” Hornby bluntly replied when asked if he considered bringing Mitchell back in the centres before Gray’s injury.

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Captain Cameron Murray is excited for Mitchell’s return and just wants him to be himself.

“He has been training well, he has been prepping us really well and carving up at training,” Murray said.

“Latrell plays best when he just keeps it simple in his head, so we are not expecting him to come in and solve all our problems and make us into the in form team of the NRL.

“We just want him to come in and just be him. Obviously he has got a presence about him and he will definitely come in and boost our moods and confidence a little bit.”

Hornby provided an update on his injured stars post match with both unlikely to play next week.

“Not good,” Hornby said.

“Jye looks like he’s got a syndesmosis and Dean’s got a quad strain so not ideal.”

Hornby was pressed on Izack Tago’s hip drop tackle on Gray

“You saw it as well, didn’t you? Can’t do it,” Hornby said.

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Despite the loss Hornby was pleased with his side’s effort after they led 12-0 and trailed 18-12 into the second half.

“Yeah we saw plenty of it (effort),” Hornby said.

“I thought we really started well obviously. Getting Jai in the bin obviously hurt us but there was effort all day.

“I don’t think we deserved that score line but at the end of the day it is what it is, so we’ve just got to move forward.”

However, Souths faded, with a gift try to Taylan May from a 20 metre tap summing up their horror season, but Hornby defended his team’s blunder.

“I think the ball went dead,” Hornby said.

“The boys are trying to get back as quickly as they can. We’ve done a lot of work by then so fatigue is going to get you at some stage.

“Taylan made a great play too so credit to him.”

Hornby revealed the team tried to keep their usual approach despite the turmoil surrounding the sacking of Jason Demetriou.

“We tried to keep it as normal as possible,” Hornby said.

“I know that’s not possible in that sort of week, but we tried to do as best we could.

“I thought Cam and the senior players did a great job with that. Before the game we were excited for the game. We’re going up against the premiers. We get a chance to make a statement and I thought we did that.

“Now it’s about moving forward, taking that same desire and commitment and do it for longer periods.”

Skipper Cameron Murray defended his side after their conceded 42 straight points in the final 62 minutes.

“Yeah, look I know the score line didn’t reflect it and I know you can nitpick different scenarios and moments out there where you can say there was no effort,” Murray said.

“There was a lot of fatigue in our defensive line. A lot of people playing out of position, Jai in the bin, a few injuries there too.

“We were playing wounded but I still think there are some good moments in there and some good things to reflect back on and really base the way we want to play our footy moving forward.

“Still emotional, everyone hates losing. It’s not all smiles in that change them, not at all. We tried to turn up today and make a statement, but we came up against a good opposition.

“Little moments in there that were good but we’re going to be fighting hard for the rest of the season I think and just trying to get back to our best footy.

“I’m still proud of the boys. We talked about a lot of effort, particularly for Cookie’s 200th and he’s a special player in our side.

“His greatest trait is his effort and giving himself to his teammates and we really tried to channel that and give it back to him today.

“I know the score line didn’t reflect that but there were some moments out there that we can be proud of.

“It really was an honour to play in one of our good mates 200th games so we’ll move forward from this.”

Murray revealed the players were not as affected by the outside noise surrounding their former coach this week as much as some were suggesting.

“It’s not ideal circumstances so I’m not going to sit here and lie and say it was easy but in saying that it probably wasn’t as hard as everyone thinks it was,” Murray said.

“At the end of the day we’re footy players and it’s about the men in the change room and us turning up as a group and teammates and just trying to go out there and be good teammates and make good memories out there and play for your mates.

“We’re footy players and this is what we love to do. What happens on the outside and what we can’t control is irrelevant for us.

“The more time we spend worrying about that, the more time it takes us away from what we can actually control and that’s just turning up and trying to play our best footy and trying to be good teammates.

“We try to keep the messaging pretty simple and keep it normal. It’s been a tough week.

That’s footy we’re gonna move on.”

Murray wouldn’t be drawn into reports Wayne Bennett is set to rejoin the club.

“To be honest, it’s a hard question to answer because it doesn’t really matter,” Murray said.

“Wayne or whoever’s coaching us next year is coaching us next year. We’re worried about next week. Benny’s here as our interim coach and that’s that.”

Hornby believes the buzz word for Souths is improvement every week for the rest of the season.

“Exactly that. We want to improve,” Hornby said.

“We’re not happy where we are. We want to improve it next week and the week after and the week after. So nothing’s changed for us.

“Another effort like that with a little bit more smarts around it and a bit more disciplined.”

Hornby joked that Bennett had taken his job before he coached a game, but admitted he will lean on the master coach for advice.

“I’m not sure. I mean, me and Wayne talk regularly so I’ll ask for his advice like anyone would,” Hornby said.

“I thought we’d put in a good performance there for long periods. We just got to be doing it for longer.”

Hornby revealed Wayne’s advice for him before his first game at the helm of Souths.

“Just to be me, that’s what Wayne says nearly every time,” Hornby said.

“Just be you. Can’t try and be someone else. Just be you.”

Murray conceded he and the players were happy the conjecture surrounding the coach is over after the Demetriou decision was made final.

“Yeah, I guess in a way probably,” Murray said.

“We tried not to let the external pressure affect us. But it’s probably in the back of our minds to be honest and everyone’s on socials, so everyone’s scrolling and seeing everything that’s going on there. So yeah, maybe a little bit.”

Hornby conceded he may have to use Jack Wighton and Cody Walker in the halves given the injury to Hawkins.

“We were probably a little bit clunky in that department, but it’s hard to say,” Hornby said.

“I just don’t know what we’re going to pick next week with the injuries we’ve got, so we just have to sit down with the rest of the staff and see what we can come up with to get the result we want.”

In some good injury news Jai Arrow is not expected to miss time despite copping some knocks to his injured shoulder.

“Yeah, he’s fine. I spoke to him in there,” Hornby said.

“He said he’s got a couple of whacks on it. So we were going to think about taking him off at the back end of the game, but he said, no, I’m good to stay at his side. That’s usually a good sign for us.”