“Jarome gives me those sort of sprays every training session,” Martin said.

“There’s nothing in that,we’ve built that culture where we hold each other accountable,and it would have been worse had he glazed over it.

“Jarome is made a bit of a scapegoat sometimes. But it doesn’t faze him,so that’s good. ”

Mitchell has told teammates he will play against the Panthers.

Teammate Damien Cook said he was not exactly sure what Mitchell meant by his “cracks” comment,while Campbell Graham said:“That’s Latrell,he’s a personality in the game,he says what he thinks and that’s what we love about him. I’d never tell him not to say something or keep a lid on it.

“I think he’ll play,and he’s confident he’ll play.

“Taaffe trained really well today,and he’s been our best all pre-season in terms of training. He’s the fittest at the club,and if ‘Trell’ is no good,we have full faith in Taaffe.”

Souths will be without Jai Arrow (hamstring) and Junior Tatola (concussion),who are both expected to return for Friday week’s clash against the Sydney Roosters,while Davvy Moale,who picked up a cork to his knee against Cronulla,sat out training on Tuesday,but will play against Penrith.

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