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Did you ever doubt him? Latrell Mitchell had endured something of a slow start to 2023, registering no tries and not so much as a line break prior to South Sydney’s traditional Good Friday clash with the Bulldogs.
Suffice to say, he’s answered any critics that he might have had. Latrell grabbed a hat trick in the Bunnies’ dominant 50-16 win, imposing himself on the game in the first half and putting the icing on the result late.
Beyond the tries, there were multiple miraculous plays: a bullet pass for Campbell Graham’s second of a hat-trick, a slinging one-handed pass for his third and even a nonchalant, arcing goalkicking that came back off the black dot.
The Easter Show was next door – and Latrell will be there with his cows on Saturday – but the fireworks started early thanks to the Bunnies’ main man.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
His impact was the obvious headline, but behind his finishes were sterling showings from captain Cameron Murray, five-eighth Cody Walker and hooker Damien Cook, who delivered all the ammunition their star fullback needed.
Things were already bad on the injury front for Canterbury with 11 players from their top 30 missing, but they got even worse early on with a nasty ankle injury to Josh Addo-Carr. The Bulldogs flyer caught a foot in the turf and left in a moonboot, putting his Origin chances in serious doubt.
The Dogs might also have to contend without Jacob Preston, who was binned for a hip-drop tackle on Izaac Thompson in the second half.
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No, not that man. Latrell did grab his first try of the season – off a massively forward pass, mind – but the genesis of most of what Souths did that was good was Murray.
The captain has been monumental this year, playing full 80 minutes in the middle some weeks, but the return of Tevita Tatola and Hame Sele has lifted so much weight off the back of the skipper that he was able to get back to his playmaking role.
Mitchell was able to take advantage of the greater fluidity in the attack that followed. For both of his tries in the first half, he was the beneficiary of superb right shifts where Murray dug in deep, kept the tacklers condensed and allowed the long pass to get around the side.
Mitchell – and later, on the left, Jacob Host – got to dot the ball down, but Murray was the man who made everything happen.
Close behind him was Cook. Perhaps it was a function of the middles, too, who were winning the floor against an undersized Bulldogs pack.
He set up the Bunnies’ first try for Murray with a smart piece of deception, changing the direction of travel and isolating rookie Harrison Edwards in the line. Late on, it was the hooker who spotted the man down to get Mitchell away for his third.
Even before the first try, he had looked in the mood, scurrying from behind the ruck and holding the markers in.
Between Cook’s ability to hold the middle and Murray’s willingness to stick defenders centrally, it was inevitable that Souths would find space if they could get the ball there fast enough. For the first time this year, they managed it.
The Dogs seemed to have have their hearts set on putting Souths off their stride. From their first touch of the footy, they attacked and went wide.
They were inverting their winger and centre at times, using Jacob Kiraz one in as a running and passing threat, especially from set plays, while Jake Averillo empowered to play wider outside of his winger and to drift on occasion.
Given the depleted roster coming in, it made perfect sense for Ciraldo to try to stun Souths early and build on that momentum.
It nearly worked, too. The first play caught the Bunnies cold and even when the scoreboard was moving against them, the endeavour from the Dogs continued.
The tactic was always likely to be one of high risk, high reward given the troops available. It looked like it was set to come off, but the lack of depth in the forwards did tell when Edwards went for a HIA and Souths were able to roll their biggest blokes against Canterbury’s smallest.
It struck again when Preston was binned, with Walker able to exploit scattered defence and Mitchell on hand to grab a hat-trick from more good work from Cook.
Josh Addo-Carr. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Addo-Carr’s hopes of an Origin return could be over after suffering an ankle injury in the very early stages.
The Foxx went down when chasing a Matt Burton kick and appeared in immediate distress.
Replays showed that his foot appeared to get stuck in the turf at Accor Stadium, which has been largely out of action so far in 2023 after a series of concerts to start the year.
The winger was down for a prolonged period, and though he attempted to run it off, was swiftly stopped by the trainer. Later, TV footage showed him being carried down the tunnel by two trainers.
Initial reports from the sideline were that it was a syndesmosis injury, which typically take 6-8 weeks to rehab. Even if rushed back, that would likely rule the Foxx out of Origin 1 at a minimum.
Addo-Carr was expected to return to the NSW Blues team after being dropped in 2022. He bounced back in spectacular fashion, being voted into the Team of the Tournament at the World Cup and widely regarded as among Australia’s best players.