Latrell Mitchell looks to be at the peak of his considerable powers right now – and a long-time rival at State of Origin level has detailed just what a problem he is when he’s at his best.
Dane Gagai has played with Mitchell, and face him regularly at club and representative level, and was in awe of the centre’s “farmer’s strength” after Newcastle’s narrow win on Sunday.
The sight of Mitchell trampling over Kalyn Ponga for a late try will on highlight reels all season, not to mention his effort to convert his own four-pointer from the sideline while being booed by more than 23,000 fans at McDonald Jones Stadium.
He also was the one diving into the corner on one of the last plays of the game, only to come up short as the Knights fought their way to a 42-38 win.
To fully appreciate how well Mitchell is playing, especially in attack, he has scored two more points than the entire St George Illawarra team has been able to rustle up after eight games.
“He’s just a big, powerful athlete with good footwork and speed,” Gagai told this masthead about Mitchell.
“When he gets going, he’s so hard to handle. You need numbers in tackles with him.
“I don’t know how much he weighs on the scales, but he’s pure muscle and has that farmer’s strength.
“He’s also got feet like he weighs 70kg, he’s got those sharp feet, but can run over you when he wants to.
“[In] The first half, we attacked a fair bit down our right edge and tried to get a bit of fatigue into them.
“That second half, we had a few errors, penalties, and once Latrell gets his legs under him, and he’s fresh, he’s a bloody handful.”
Souths teammate Campbell Graham plays on the opposite side of the field to Mitchell, but never gets tired of seeing Mitchell do what he does.
“He’s a freak, I truly think he’s the best centre in the game and in the world,” Graham said.
“He shows that every week. Latrell and Cody [Walker] single-handedly got us back into the game [against Newcastle].
“He’s a pleasure to watch from the other side – it’s nice to be in the same team as a player of his calibre.”
Souths coach Wayne Bennett shifted Mitchell from fullback to centre over the off-season, which allowed Jye Gray to become the new owner of the No.1, and Mitchell to resume life on his preferred left side of the field.
A week earlier against Melbourne, Mitchell had no troubles shifting the ball quickly to Alex Johnston for a try, and bombed a two-point field-goal.
Before that, Mitchell terrorised another Queenslander, Valentine Holmes, with a four-try performance against the Dragons, scored in Perth despite being confronted by five Canberra players, and on Good Friday, scooped up a loose ball and planted the ball down for a four-pointer while moving at speed.
As Bennett himself said after the loss to the Knights: “I hope people enjoy his skill level, because he’s rare.”
Mitchell was in serious touch in 2020 before his season was cut short by a hamstring injury, was dynamite in 2021 before he was hit with a heavy ban for his famous tackle on Roosters centre Joey Manu, and played a huge role in Souths’ late-season surge in 2022.
Injuries cruelled 2023, 2024 and last year, but Mitchell looks fit and growing in confidence with each outing this year.
Graham, meanwhile, is one wing option for the NSW Blues, especially after one of the leading candidates, Sydney Roosters’ rugby-bound flyer Mark Nawaqanitawase, underwent ankle surgery over the weekend.
The 26-year-old has been in and around NSW camp in recent years, and already played for Australia, and said he would love the chance to play against Queensland.
“Every year that’s the goal for me, and it’s no different this year,” he said.
“I feel like I’m finding my feet since shifting to the wing, but I feel like I’ve been building.”
