Andrew Johns says South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell needs to make some "tweaks" but is tipping him to bounce back to his best by next season.
Mitchell was heavily criticised for his performance in round 25, when the Rabbitohs had their pants pulled down by Newcastle in the Hunter.
A disappointing day ended with Mitchell being sin-binned for a cheap shot on Tyson Frizell, and later banned for one game.
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The suspension means he will miss the Bunnies' last game of the regular season, and won't play again this year unless the team can sneak into finals.
Following the loss, several pieces of vision were aired by various NRL programs to highlight Mitchell's worrying form slump.
"His form has been down, there's been some worrying clips which have aired recently of some of his efforts," Johns told Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour.
"He's not fit enough to be (Penrith fullback) Dylan Edwards, he's not fit enough to be (James) Tedesco, but he is fit enough to be Latrell Mitchell.
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"He's so smart, he knows when to bring himself into the game and there's times when he takes himself out of the game, but when he injects himself it's breathtaking how good he is.
"Whether he goes back to centre, I don't know."
Mitchell was one of the best centres in the game when winning two premierships with the Roosters, before moving to South Sydney where he became a fullback.
While many have suggested Mitchell is more suited to playing centre – given the massive work rate of modern-day fullbacks in the NRL – Johns knows the enigmatic Bunnies star can be a class No.1.
"Still fullback at club level. At representative level he's a centre," he said.
"Everyone can see Latrell needs to tweak a couple of things, he's got a big off-season in front of him.
"Hopefully this provides some motivation for him, and I think he will come back next year as a different player. I think round one next year we'll see a different Latrell."
Late last year, Mitchell signed a lengthy contract extension tying him to South Sydney until the end of 2027.
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