One strong impression that was plain to see from Friday night’s Souths vs Roosters game, where the Rabbitohs effectively played themselves out of contention for the 2024 premiership after their 48-6 flogging, was that Latrell Mitchell looked more than a little broken and a mere shadow of his usual confident and belligerent self.
His head was often down, he didn’t run with any real aggression, uncharacteristically submitting easily to the defence, and there was none of that macho attitude that we’ve become accustomed to.
If anything, he seemed distracted, disinterested and defeated, and this in a must-win game against his former club and South Sydney’s traditional rivals.
Heavily booed by the Roosters fans not only when he took the field but also every time he featured in the play, the boo meter then hit 11/10 when he was sin-binned for a professional foul on Roosters skipper James Tedesco in the second half.
In Mitchell, the Roosters fans clearly had an object for their apparent hatred of their bitter rivals in South Sydney, so much so that they seemed uncertain of who to lay into during his 10 minutes in the bin. Thank heavens for Cody Walker.
Mitchell’s impact and game involvement was, to say the least, disappointing, and even a generous judge would struggle to rate him more than a 3/10 for the match.
He rarely called for the many bombs launched in his direction by the Roosters’ halves, did little to help his wingers Alex Johnston and Taane Milne return the ball, was about as effective as an AFL goal umpire in defence, and didn’t really have a serious go in attack.
Harsh judgement perhaps, but probably an assessment that will have many, if not most, Souths fans nodding their little rabbit ears in agreement.
So, how is it that one of the game’s elite athletes can turn in another half-hearted performance like this one? Well, there’s a couple of things we know for sure about Latrell Mitchell – firstly, that he’s a very, very good footballer, and secondly, that he somehow always finds himself in the news, more often than not as a willing participant.
No other player in the game is either more polarising or attracts the same level of public scrutiny as Mitchell, but is he the victim here or is it largely self-inflicted?
Somehow, he always manages to be in the news, either as the subject of the story or as a commentator. Most recently he publicly passed both judgement and sentence on the Spencer Leniu racial abuse charge that had nothing to do with him, and then happily swore his head off on the radio in a post-game interview. Now while this is great fodder for the media, it probably isn’t doing either Mitchell or his club much good.
Just the flak he drew from his recent Triple M F-bombathon would be enough to have most mere mortals attending an open day at their local monastery, but for Mitchell that was just another day at the office and the latest entry in his media over-exposure resume.
Surely it must affect him, it must be a distraction, and it must play on his mind to the extent that he can’t entirely focus on the job Souths are paying him a million dollars a year for.
Underneath all the public swagger and bravado, Mitchell appears to be a sensitive soul who would rather hear cheers than boos and who would prefer to be known and appreciated for his good deeds both on and off the field rather than his contribution to the 24-hour news cycle.
At 26 years of age, Mitchell, like most men of his age, still has a lot to learn, and just learning from your mistakes can take its toll. Perhaps it’s time for either the Souths CEO Blake Solly or coach Jason Demetriou to sit him down and suggest that he avoids media interviews and social media, focuses on his strengths as a gifted athlete, and does his “talking” on the field.
Maybe then we’ll see Mitchell at his best and even opposition fans will be cheering for more.
Tony
Roar Guru
I agree 100%. He could be anything if he just consistently increased his involvement.
Gamechanger
Roar Rookie
Tony he just doesn’t go looking for work like Tedesco. He is one of the most disengaged talented players I’ve ever seen. One can see comments at the end of his career like “ gifted but never realised potential”.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I can only hope so but I doubt it. JD has Latrell wrapped up in so much cotton wool I doubt he gets to hear any 'outside noise'. It appears from JD's comments he too is deaf to 'outside noise', just like the captain of the Titanic right before it hit the iceberg. Perhaps if Dumbo Big Ears used those big ears ears more it might actually save his job.
Tony
Roar Guru
He's spot on GB. Let's hope he's listening.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I just read a comment from former Balmain flyer and indigenous legend Larry Corowa giving Latrell Mitchell some honest advice, and he nailed it! "Latrell doesn't do himself any favours - he just needs to concentrate on being the class player he is and do everything to win for the team," . "He needs to let his football do the talking - stop looking at the big screen, stop intimidating." "Be a team player and everyone will love the new Latrell. Put your head down, train harder, simple… and the results will come."
Tony
Roar Guru
Do you reckon centres cover more ground than fullbacks? I think it's the other way around.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
He saved more than his fair share of tries in the first two games, probably as many as he did in the second half of last season put together. The problem was his teammates porous defence which meant he had to just to keep them in the game. And until that changes, Latrell's performances are neither here nor there.
MannyK
Roar Rookie
Excellent in the first two matches? Did you watch either of the first two games? Scoring a try in each doesn't qualify your performance as excellent.... i've seen goalposts move more that LM in defence .... how about that lolly he threw Manly 1 minute before halftime in Vegas. Excellent you reckon?
MannyK
Roar Rookie
He won't play centre. I'm sure the coach and the club have been told his position is #1 else there will be a problem (well, not bigger than the current problem). He's holding down a workhorse position but the guys keeps proving week after week he doesn't want to work. Can Latrell cope with 10 metres up 10 metres back five times per set then chase a kick on the sixth? You're dreaming. Each defensive set is close to 100 metres of running by the outside backs. Whoever thinks LM will do that or can do that has rocks in their head. Latrell doesn't record 400 metres in a match. He's chosen fullback because for a lazy guy, that's where you can hide until the replay shows your zero defensive effort (a professional club wouldn't tolerate that sort of garbage. At Souths, he's in charge and you wont see him in 3 or 4 unless a centre gets injured). Otherwise, just keep an eye on him when Souths concede a try - he shows up 3 seconds after the scene of the crime - every single time. Zero positional awareness in defence. Zero defensive effort. Zero defensive learnings in the last three years. Who except the Dragons or Tigers or Dogs would accept this year-after-year?
matth
Roar Guru
Yes, every now and then I'd like to see him overcall the play and just absolute motor on to a pass one or two off the ruck. He is very hard to handle at full pelt, as the amount of tries he used to score from 10 metres out can attest to. If he did that with a quick play the ball and say Wighton followed up at pace, suddenly the Rabbits are on the front foot, Cook has room, Walker has time and away you go.
Tony
Roar Guru
Yep, Robbo was right....shame Mitchell didn't take heed and stay on at the Roosters.
Freddy is king
Roar Rookie
Robbo always knew Latrell was only a centre - that is why he let him go and used the money to top up Joey Manu’s contract. History has shown us that Robbo was correct.
Tony
Roar Guru
This is where a good coach will make the right call, both for the player and the team. Mitchell can be the best centre in the game by a country mile but isn't in the top six fullbacks.
Tony
Roar Guru
I think it's a bit premature to talk about Mitchell's demise. I see him more as a player at the crossroads, and if he can change the little things with a little bit of outside help, he can still achieve a lot. As for souths, there are obviously some problems behind the scenes there.
Tony
Roar Guru
There's no way they'd drop him. Neither Solly nor Demetriou are big enough for that. :laughing:
Tony
Roar Guru
Yes, ego can certainly get in the way with young men, particularly when they have a lot of money thrown at them.
Tony
Roar Guru
Welcome to the Roar! You could be right about that. Someone needs to get him out of the media limelight so that he can do his best with his career.
MsChooki
Roar Rookie
All those ? are meant to be emoji laughing faces. What is the go with converting them to ? lol
MsChooki
Roar Rookie
Dropping him to play reggies at Wyong worked a treat for Robbo while he was at the Roosters. Latrell came back, put his head down & worked his butt off & played excellent in the NRL again... I don't think Souths have the nads to drop him though
MsChooki
Roar Rookie
The Roosters managed him & his ego a whole lot better but at the end he was trying to throw his weight around which went down like a lead balloon with Uncle Nick