'That NSW jersey is mine': Mitchell sends reminder to Burton in brutal look

On a night where Mitchell scored one of the most brilliant solo attempts of the season, pushing good mate Josh Addo-Carr out of the way at the end of a brutal 40-meter jump, Rabbitoh edged a little closer to the last eight. against a team of brave Bulldogs.

And that’s all good about Mitchell, and only a little bit bad.

He threw one of those passes that only came naturally to the most talented for Junior Tatola to level the score late in the game, and also cut Addo-Carr in the face which led to the Bulldogs effort.

But the sight of Mitchell galloping past the Bulldogs defenders after Kodi Nikorima was taken down, intent on destroying anyone in his path, is one of the noblest, and scariest, sights for any rugby league fan.

Missing NSW regulars Cameron Murray and Damien Cook, Mitchell also provided the final pass for an attempted win five minutes from full time as Alex Johnston scored another Accor Stadium hat-trick. Mitchell didn’t even have to look where his winger was. A field goal would have been the logical choice, but Mitchell had other ideas.

Said South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou: “Without Cam and Cooky, we needed Latrell and Cody to stand up. They both came up with some big enough drama to set up an experiment. Again, that’s what you want from your leaders. They keep standing and if they keep doing that we will be in a good place in the final.”

Declan Casey scores for the Bulldogs.Credit:Getty

For a long part of the game, the Bulldogs looked to be dealing a major blow to any hopes of the South Sydney final and took the lead into the final 10 minutes when Paul Vaughan bagged a rare try. They even managed to score from 90 meters when Declan Casey exploded under the pitch before Jake Averillo raced in.

But that only propelled Mitchell into action as South Sydney scored three tries in the final 10 minutes, and injury added to the humiliation for the Bulldogs as Addo-Carr limped off with a glute problem in the second half.

There was a game on Good Friday when Trent Barrett was still coaching the struggling Bulldogs when they looked like taking him to South Sydney, and then Jeremy Marshall-King sin-binned and that was it.

Three months later, and interim coach Mick Potter has injected more steel into the club that’s slowly clawing its way from under the stairs.

Latrell Mitchell in a rare form against the Bulldogs.Credit:Getty

Burton was flattered by Mitchell’s Instagram note last month when the South Sydney superstar pleaded with NSW voters to keep the superboot on the team for the third game, before resigning.

This time, Burton had just been leveled by Mitchell. It wasn’t the same haymaker that Gagai threw at him during the wild Origin decider, Mitchell just put the Bulldogs five-eight and slid straight over him, with a few choice words at the end of it.

Load

It was the culmination of a first half that began with South Sydney central midfielder Lachlan Ilias, wearing a black armband in honor of his grandfather Spyros, kicking himself to open the scoring as Rabbitoh led 16-10 at half-time.

Then it was the Latrell show.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he? He can play,” Potter said. “He’s one of the best. I think we still need to improve faster and if you’re still losing it’s not enough. I think there’s a lot more in this team. I think we can get there, but this season is short of games. We have to win here and there.”

If only Fittler could ask Mitchell for help on the same.

SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS 36 (Alex Johnston 3, Lachlan Ilias, Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell, Junior Tatola tries; Mitchell 4 goals) beat CANTERBURY BULLDOGS 28 (Braidon Burns, Declan Casey, Joe Stimson, Jake Averillo, Paul Vaughan tries; Matt Burton 4 goals) at Accor Stadium. Referee: Chris Butler. Crowd: 19126.

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