The Kangaroos head into next Sunday’s World Cup semi-final with a forgotten trump card – a fit Latrell Mitchell.
Coach Kevin Walters on Sunday insisted Mitchell has not become the Kangaroos “forgotten man” after losing the left centre spot to Bradman Best in the past two games.
Even if Mitchell misses out on the starting side for the match at Allianz Stadium, Walters is prepared to use him via the interchange bench with one simple instruction.
“[I’d tell him to] Go and create something because Latrell is a creator – he can do things not many others can on the field,” Walters said.
“He’s hard to handle, and he’s highly skilful. He brings a lot of presence as a player.
“It’s tough because you can only put 13 players on the field at any one time. Latrell is one of our elite players. [But over] The last couple of weeks, Bradman has been playing good footy. It was going to be a big call either way.
“Bradman carries the ball strongly, he defends well, and he’s played consistently well for a long time now.
“Bradman and Latrell are not exclusive left-sided players. Latrell played fullback and can play all over the field.
“The thing with Latrell is we don’t need to rely on him to pull out the big moments. He’s got the big moments in him, but we can ease the pressure on him, let him play his football, and he can bring himself into the game when he sees the right moments.”
Mitchell started in the World Cup opener against New Zealand, but went into that game with a virus. Walker has since said he would not have played the South Sydney star in that match if he had his time over.
Kotoni Staggs has been the regular starting right centre, but Walters said all positions would be up for grabs heading into the business end of the tournament. As he said after the 66-6 win over the Cook Islands when it came to team selections: “I keep telling everyone [about there being no guaranteed selections], but you seem to think I’m a bullshitter, and I’m lying to you. I haven’t made any decisions about who is playing where.”
In other selection news for Australia, Cameron Murray will be back after missing the Townsville game with calf tightness, while Ethan Strange was excellent on debut when used off the bench just after half-time – and gave a glimpse of what may be his long-term position.
“I wanted to get Ethan on in the second half, the opportunity came up with Isaah who had done enough to earn a spell, and Ethan actually came up to me during the week and said he was contemplating playing in the middle, and had even trained there with the Raiders,” Walters said.
“He’s a talented player. He looked comfortable there, didn’t he?
“He committed to us while he was on a holiday with his partner, so he deserved his opportunity, and he certainly grabbed it.”
Ethan’s father, Sydney Roosters NRLW and NSW Origin women’s coach John Strange, presented his son with his jersey on Friday, and said of the special family moment: “To see Ethan debut at 18 at the Raiders was special, and Origin I this year was crazy as well.
“To see him play for Australia was really special. I know the other nations place so much importance on their heritage and culture, but I feel the same way about Australia and what that means. I wanted to convey that message to Ethan during the jersey presentation.
“Watching him run out, I was really excited because I knew he could play anywhere.
“He plays five-eighth, but when I saw Isaah coming off, I was really excited because I think lock is a position he can play really well; he can be that ball-playing lock who is a run threat and is also a great defender.
“I just love watching him play footy – I’m a bit of a fan when it comes to what he can do.”
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