After South Sydney training, Latrell Mitchell stood calm and proud between his two families. With him were his father Matt and mum Patricia, down from Biripi country up Taree way. Clinging to his tree-trunk legs like koalas in pyjamas were his daughters Aleena and Inala. Close by was big brother teammate Shaquai. The Mitchells spoke together softly as Redfern locals walked by, nodding their respect as Latrell flashed them smiles or shot back a wink.
As members of the Rabbitohs family chatted to a nearby media huddle, singing his praises, Mitchell quietly radiated confidence and happiness. Yet the ink was still drying on the “scary”, “intimidating” and “rampaging” Latrell that had led his team’s victory over the Bulldogs days prior. Only three games into his return after three months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, the full-back and acting captain had set up three tries for teammates and scored one himself.
That solo try detonated headlines and got league fans buzzing about That Man Latrell again. Seeing what no one else had, Mitchell had surged onto a short inside pass, beaten two men, tiptoed an S-bend around another two defenders, skipped out of a final tackle in a canter, then fended Josh Addo-Carr with a palm to the chest like a farmer flicking a bug off his shirt.
Instinct. Power. Speed. Insouciance. Only Latrell Mitchell could have scored such a try. But he made an even greater statement when he crossed the line and stood to celebrate. There was no fist-pumping, kicking the ball to the rafters, cute kangaroo ears or tongue wagging. Instead Mitchell stood, found the camera and stared straight down the barrel, eyes blazing black like a shark’s, in silent imperious threat. It was a look that said, simply: I’m back.
As the Rabbitohs celebrated three on the trot since their talisman’s return and coach Jason Demetriou gleefully eyed a Mitchell-led march to the finals, Brad Fittler must have winced. Mitchell in this mood might have been the winning edge for New South Wales in last week’s State of Origin decider. Instead Fittler’s star centre from 2021 ruled himself out to pay back the faith of his club side.
That’s the power of Latrell Mitchell. Even when he doesn’t play, his impact is still profound. Fittler knows it. Queensland know it too. Even Mitchell’s NSW centre replacement knows it. As one of those Bulldogs flailing in Mitchell’s wake, Matt Burton got a ringside seat as his NSW spot vanished. “Told you that 3 jersey is mine,” Latrell grinned at reporters afterward.
This week he is Craig Bellamy’s problem, as his Storm side face Mitchell’s men on Saturday. Bellamy already has problems, and none can be blamed on Eddie Jones, the England rugby union coach who is studying the Storm set-up this week (although Eddie is a Rabbitohs fan). Melbourne has lost three weeks running. In 2012 Bellamy’s boys lost five straight and still won the title, but missing 40+ tackles three weeks in a row hasn’t happened in 20 years.
South Sydney have a diabolical record against the Storm, having lost 31 of 36 encounters. The last time they played, Melbourne won in golden point, the time before that it was 50-0. But with Ryan Papenhuyzen gone for the season and no Josh Addo-Carr to score five tries, the Storm roll into Sydney at a low ebb, onto turf still scorched from Latrell’s afterburners.
What will the NRL’s greatest working coach do to diffuse South Sydney’s greatest weapon? One thing is certain: Latrell isn’t much worried. His 12 weeks away from the NRL – two of them spent in Los Angeles with the specialist who got Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez back in the big time – has rehabilitated his body, but also his mind and spirit.
Even Superman had a place to retreat to. He called it his ‘fortress of solitude’ and it was a wild and beautiful place with statues of his parents and another of his home planet Krypton. Although Mitchell lives and trains in the Metropolis, he has a similar fortress he escapes to. ‘Glengarry’ is a six-bedroom manor on 19 riverfront acres in Mitchell’s home town of Taree. He, the first member of his family to own his own home, bought it for his parents in 2021.
Growing up, Matt and Pat always liked to know where their three boys were, and who they were with. They knew small towns breed big issues that drink, drugs and boredom make worse. Matt Mitchell was the Aboriginal education officer at Taree’s local high school and his father and uncles established the Tent Embassy on the lawns of Parliament in the ‘70s. He raised Latrell to be a lightning rod for his people and a force for good, on and off the field.
Matt wanted his boys to play tennis – they were the Goolagong mob after all – but when little Latrell scored 11 tries in one game, he gave Trell, Shaq and Lionel their heads and destiny. Shaquai is also a member of the Rabbitohs’ squad, but where Latrell shot from the gates a superstar, Shaq battled hamstring and weight issues to chase down his NRL dream. “Shaq is a big teddy bear,” Matt once wrote, “whereas Latrell, he’s always had that killer instinct.”
The decision to sacrifice his NSW jersey and focus on club duties was proof of it. Mitchell made the shock call himself, showing humility and maturity heretofore untapped. Thus Fittler learned what South Sydney fans already knew, having let the 2020 preliminary final and 2021 decider slip with their match-winner on the sideline, through injury then suspension. Mitchell knows he owes those fans a debt. Last week he showed an intent to pay them back.
