TRELL STEALS
The NRL’S greatest showman, Latrell Mitchell, was at his magnificent best on Good Friday, scoring a hat-trick of tries in South Sydney’s 50-16 hammering of Canterbury in his 150th game.
With the Easter Show in full swing at the Accor Stadium precinct, it was Mitchell who brought more joy and exhilaration to the crowd of 35,211 than any showbag or rollercoaster could have.
After being criticised a week ago for being too passive, Mitchell roared back into life, racking up 26 points, scoring three tries and kicking a penalty goal and six conversions as the Rabbitohs demolished the understrength Dogs.
“That’s what we need to do – get him the ball in the right field position,” Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou said.
“As a fullback, the things he can do, there’s no other player in the comp can do. Tonight he was Latrell Mitchell.
“And that’s what we want from him every week.”
The match turned twice against the Bulldogs – firstly when star winger Josh Addo-carr went off with an ankle injury then when Jacob Preston was sent off for 10 minutes for a hip-drop tackle on Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson.
“A couple of things went against us and three tries in 10 minutes just before half-time – we couldn’t turn the momentum there,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said. “So that was disappointing.
“But at half-time we were very positive (about) how we could claw it back and in the second half we started really well. Got back into a grind. And we were looking pretty good.
“But again, a little patch when momentum went against us and we couldn’t claw it back.”
Ciraldo wouldn’t use the club’s injury toll or a short turnaround as excuses. He also didn’t want to expand upon the sin-binning of Preston for a hip drop.
“That sin bin, I don’t know if it killed our energy or killed our belief,” he said. “But we just didn’t handle it.
“And you just can’t give South Sydney that many cues.
“Wasn’t ideal, no.”
Asked whether he thought the tackled warranted a sin bin, Ciraldo had the face of an Easter Island statue.
“Did you?” he replied. “I’ll have to have a look at it again.”
Souths’ big men Thomas Burgess and Keaon Koloamatangi made telling metres in the middle, while Cody Walker was his mercurial best with several try and linebreak-assists, and a four-pointer in his fourth consecutive game at Accor Stadium.
With Addo-carr off the field and his place taken by centre Paul Alamoti, and backrower Jackson Topine one in from him, Souths set upon the Bulldogs’ left flank time and again. Mitchell ran for 177m and hit a pure 40m field goal that didn’t count. Campbell Graham ran for 141m and scored a hat-trick, while right winger Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson ran for
152m.
In front of a bumper crowd, plenty of them Easter Show-goers, the Bulldogs were under the pump early but opened the scoring when quick hands on their 10m line freed up Jake Averillo, who scorched away on a 90m dash, the predominantly blue-and-white crowd roaring him home.
Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray said it had been a “special week” at Redfern.
“We had a bit to play for this week with Latrell’s milestone … his brother Shaq presented the jersey,” Murray said. “It was pretty special to see how much it meant to Shaq, Latrell and all his family, where he’s come, where he is now and where he’s heading.”
With Mitchell in this form, it could be right to the top.