Bennett unsure if Mitchell will stay in Souths' halves

Coach Wayne Bennett has refused to guarantee sticking by Latrell Mitchell in the halves after South Sydney slumped to their worst loss of the season at the hands of Canterbury.

Mitchell was moved to centre after the torrid first 40 minutes of Good Friday's 32-0 defeat at Accor Stadium.

The NRL superstar failed to fire and made two costly errors which were the catalyst for Canterbury tries in the first half.

Souths finished the game with Jack Wighton and English import Lewis Dodd in the halves after Cody Walker succumbed to a fresh injury.

Jayden Sullivan is set to return from suspension for next week's away trip to face Melbourne, but Bennett was reluctant to say whether Mitchell's dalliance as a playmaker was over.

"I wouldn't say that (Mitchell won't play in the halves)," Bennett said.

"We've got to make another team next week.

"We've probably got a couple of injuries out of this game.

"So at the moment, I'm not in the position where I have the luxury of picking players and putting them in the positions that they may want to play.

"Right now, I'm just trying to get the best team on the field."

Mitchell has only played in the halves out of necessity, but could fill in at centre or return to his usual fullback berth.

Moving Mitchell into the No. 1 jersey would mean Bennett would have to find a new role for pocket rocket Jye Gray, who has been the success story of the Rabbitohs' 4-3 start.

Bennett said he hooked Walker to preserve him, while the Souths coach claimed he was satisfied with Dodd's first outing since arriving from England over the off-season.

"I didn't know how I was going to use him (Dodd)," Bennett said.

"I took Cody off - he's never had a full pre-season, he's had problems and the longer the game goes the more he is going to fatigue.

"The game was not winnable at the stage I took him off.

Of Dodd, Bennett said: "It was a bad scoreboard for him to go on at, I can't judge him on anything out there today.

"I made a decision that he needed an opportunity."