How many times have you heard Latrell Mitchell being described as being the next Greg Inglis? Many players have been touted as the next big thing, but, given Mitchell’s current form, this comparison has some merit.
So how similar are these players? Firstly, they are both proud indigenous players who celebrate tries by paying tribute to their heritage. Greg Inglis is known for his goanna crawl while the younger Mitchell seems to prefer a Wallaby dance of sorts.
One of the main reasons they are compared is their size, with Inglis being 195cm high and Mitchell only slightly less at 193cm. Weight-wise, there’s not much between them – both around 103-105kg depending on what they’re eating at the time, although Inglis was around 101kg when he came into first grade.
Inglis made his debut for the Melbourne Storm in 2005 as an 18-year-old, coming on as a replacement for injured winger Jake Webster against Parramatta. He scored a try in his first match and stole Webster’s place in the run-on side.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Latrell Mitchell also made his debut at 18 years of age for the Sydney Roosters in 2016 against Inglis’ current side, the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He played fullback for that game and went on to play the key position for the entire year, scoring 14 tries and cementing himself as a future star.
Both players had stellar junior careers and were marked as players of the future. They each represented the Australian Schoolboys team and under-20 Origin teams, although Inglis represented the Queensland team while Mitchell was selected for the NSW juniors.
They also both come from successful sporting families, with Mitchell being the great nephew of Yvonne Goolagong who rose to fame in the 1970s and early 80s as the world number one tennis player. She actually won 14 Grand Slams and was one of Australia’s first indigenous stars.
Greg Inglis’ family is more tied to rugby league, with his cousins being ex-Sharks and Titans player Albert Kelly, Beau Champion, who played for the Rabbits and Eels, and Dally M Player Of The Year and former Cronulla and Penrith star, Preston Campbell.
Given that Greg Inglis is almost ten years older than his younger rival, he has experienced far more highs including countless Origin and Australian jerseys, plus the honour of winning South Sydney’s first grand final in almost 50 years during 2014.
But there’s no reason to believe that Latrell won’t follow this path. And even though the Roosters back has stated that he wants to create his own legacy, he clearly admires and respects the future Immortal.
Can Latrell Mitchell match or even surpass the feats of his idol? Only time will tell, but Mitchell’s star is rising every week.
So next time you watch the Rabbits play the Roosters, consider that you may well be watching the sorcerer and the apprentice.
Ray Paks
Roar Rookie
Hi Nat, technically speaking when Ignlis had come of age, the storm didn't have a premiership until 2011, however he was not a member of that team. He did go on to win his first premiership with souths in 2014.
Lima Taor
Guest
Inglis can't be compared to Mitchell, at least not at this stage of his career. Physically they're comparable, accolades/career/development-wise, they're different, any brief article would struggle to represent a good argument for that. The argument for "Is__the next __? " is a hard one in general. 1) Inglis was the first Inglis, give him props for that. He kept hungry and with his environment and natural talent, he became a more complete player in a shorter time. 2)Mitchell was not at the Melbourne storm esp. when slater, cronk, smith were at there best. He is part of an ever funny-performing roosters team. 3)Inglis casts a big shadow and I don't think Mitchell wants to be Inglis, I think he accepts/respects who Inglis was/is and wants to be the best he can be. He's still learning, and let's be honest, the roosters were/are not the Melbourne storm. Their game is eratic, frustrating with all the penalties, and attack structure is inconsistent. When they won the comp in 13', it was of the back of Maloney and SBW directing the team. On the note of RL-immortality, Mitchell, future-immortal? he's emulating one at the moment, immortals changed the way their positions were played and were greats overall. If the game continues to change and Mitchell becomes a multi-faceted player with great consistency, he may give himself a wild shot. GI is probably ahead of Meninga right now.
Ben
Roar Guru
Even if you don't enclude all 3 Grand Finals... He's won more than Mitchell. ?
Ben
Roar Guru
They were Grand Finals regardless of how the Storm cooked the books.
Knight Vision
Guest
thankfully cheating doesnt count, so no, he didnt "win" 3 grand finals "
Ben
Roar Guru
I'll make you a deal. When Latrell Mitchell has played close to 250 NRL, 30 State of Origins, 39 times for Australia, played in 5 Grand Finals while winning 3 at centre, 5/8th and fullback, and won the Golden Boot... We'll start comparing them! ??
Knight Vision
Guest
since when is Inglis a "future immortal" seriously you blokes should give it a rest. Everyone is a " future immortal" . I can think of at least a couple of dozen better players of the top of my head over the last 40 years that were better players than Inglis, at least a couple of dozen. He'd go ok as Meninga's ball boy.
Jay Ross
Roar Guru
No worries RoryStorm, I started writing on TheRoar at the beginning of this month with a goal of achieving 20,000 article reads by the end of April. I've pumped out over 20 articles and am at 18,200 reads with a couple of days to go. Touch and go whether Il make it, but I'll certainly keep trying. J.
Ben
Roar Guru
Taree... Yeah, that's in QLD! ??
Jay Ross
Roar Guru
May still happen!!
Jay Ross
Roar Guru
Thanks for your comments John H. His goal-kicking is becoming more consistent. He needs to be given more space when he receives the ball - currently the Roosters attack is so predictable that defenders are in his face as soon as he gets the pill. Only then will be see how good he can be. Remember how much good ball Inglis got early in his career with Cronk, Smith and co.
John H
Guest
Both great ball players, strong runners and tough tacklers. Only one of them, Lattrell, has a kicking game - he's a goal kicker, and he does the longest drop-outs in the game. As Jay said, time will tell, but doesn't the kicking game make him the more complete player?
3_Hats SSTID 2014
Roar Rookie
NO WAY!
Trent
Guest
Neither are immortal
MaryMac
Guest
Inglis may come close to an Immortal - don't think Latrell will get close.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Jay Greg Inglis a future immortal? What claims does he have for that accolade. Hall of Fame member, maybe, but I just can't see him in the immortals category. Latrell Mitchell is a very good player but is taking more time to show his true value, perhaps because he's so similar to Inglis and other teams have worked out how to manage Inglis. My only issues with Mitchell is his defence can be a little fragile occasionally, and he should be a match winner, week in, week out. The latter problem might have a lot to do with how the Roosters play him, but if he's going to realise his Inglis-like potential, he really he needs to get a lot of the ball
The Barry
Roar Guru
I was in awe of him that day. I was watching the game with my dad and his best mate and we were shaking our heads. Inglis won’t go down as an immortal but that’s more to do with consistency than anything else, but if you consider every player at their absolute best he’d be close to the best I’ve seen...certainly from an athletic point of view. What about this try... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxt2ChuAKgE
thomas coates
Guest
The annoying thing about Inglis was his talent. The annoying thing about Mitchell is his personality. when you're good, it says something if it's self evident, rather than needing you to play up how talented you think you are.
RoryStorm
Guest
My apologies Jay if I came across as being too harsh on you. I didn't know that you are new at writing a story. The point i was making was its there for everyone to see that Mitchell is a class payer. He's only young but he's going to become an excellent player with a bit more experience. I'm tipping by next year he will step up and have everyone talking about him. It's hard for even the best coaches to have a plan on how to stop players like Mitchell because they have that extra talent that can't be coached into players. Big, strong, a great fend, good footwork and the ability to crack the last line of defence. He's nowhere as good as what Inglis was at this age but as other people have pointed out Inglis was surrounded by quality players and was coached by Craig Bellamy. Also IMO Inglis had more strings to his bow and could have played anywhere in the backs. I'm tipping that Mitchell is going to be a genuine star but there will only ever be one Greg Inglis.
Mike from Tari
Guest
I'm wondering why you haven't called Mitchell a superstar like all those commentators & newspaper reporters, I am peeved at the usage of the word used on players who have not played origin or for their country, it goes to show that these people using the word have no idea what the word means.