System favours fullback

FATIMA KDOUH

RUGBY LEAGUE: For South Sydney to get the most out of superstar signing Latrell Mitchell he must succeed at fullback, according to former Australian Kangaroos centre Ryan Girdler.

Girdler, who played 227 games and won a premiership with Penrith, said the only position Latrell would be suited to under coach Wayne Bennett at Redfern is in the No.1 jumper.

“If you put him at one he is going to get a lot of football, I don’t think there is any other position for him at South Sydney in that system,” Girdler said.

Despite winning two titles with the Sydney Roosters playing at centre, Girdler believes Mitchell wouldn’t add the same value for the Rabbitohs in that position that he did at the Bondi club.

Girdler said the structures Roosters coach Trent Robinson had in place for Mitchell helped unlock his potency on the left edge – whereas Bennett’s approach of “letting guys play football” wouldn’t get the most out of the new recruit if he plays in the centres.

“Sticking him out in the centres and not having the systems in place where you are getting him the football like the Roosters did – they got the best out of him because they always had a good plan and had players on the inside that could execute the plan to get him the ball,” Girdler said.

“When you think about the way that Wayne Bennett coaches, it’s more about defence and effort and he just lets guys play football which is why he got the best out of Cody Walker last year.

“I think if you put Latrell in the centres for South Sydney he’s probably not going to get the same opportunity that he got at the Roosters.”

With James Tedesco owning fullback at the Roosters, Mitchell was released by the premiers to join the Rabbitohs, where he will get the chance to pursue his No.1 ambitions.

Rabbitohs great Greg Inglis had a similar experience when he was in Melbourne – where he played five-eighth and in the centres – before a move to Sydney allowed him to develop into one of the best fullbacks to have played the game.

“Don’t you hate comparing him to GI but it’s so hard not to,” Girdler said. “Greg went through the same process with Billy Slater at the back there at the Storm and he felt like he needed to move to play a different position and went from playing at six and in the centre to fullback … and look what he did there at South Sydney.”