South Sydney players had no idea where Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker were when they boarded their flight to Brisbane for Magic Round on Thursday afternoon.
Senior Rabbitoh Damien Cook assumed Mitchell had caught an earlier flight and “dragged his mate along to another Nike junket”.
Unbeknown to nearly everybody at the club, Mitchell and Walker had flown to Ballina at first light, before being given a police escort to the tiny Indigenous community of Cabbage Tree Island in the state’s far north.
About six weeks ago, deputy police commissioner Paul Pisanos and a few of his colleagues had been handing out bravery awards in nearby Lismore when they “accidentally” came across the students at Cabbage Tree Island Public School.
The police got talking with the league-loving kids, who invited them back for a game of touch football – but only if they returned with Mitchell and Walker.
Only 48 hours before Souths play Melbourne in the most-anticipated match at Magic Round, the Souths pair delivered their own magic to the remote community, some 20 kilometres south of Ballina, which was wiped out by last year’s floods.
Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker with police officers and a pupil from Cabbage Tree Island Public School.
Dyonne Anderson has been the principal of Cabbage Tree Island Public School for 18 years, but could not recall more positive scenes than those involving the league superstars.
The 36 students and 200-odd residents of Cabbage Tree Island have not been allowed to return since the floods, and been forced to relocate to the nearby village of Wardell. But the Aboriginal Land Council granted access back to the island for the special visit by Mitchell and Walker.
“Latrell and Cody sure brought the crowds in,” Anderson said. “When the police passed through here about six weeks ago, our kids invited them back for a game of touch, but being confident and as forward as they are, they said, ‘You can come back, but make sure you bring Latrell and Cody’.
“Six weeks later they delivered. And Latrell and Cody were absolute superstars. They were very humbled to be here. They made a commitment right from the start they’d come to our school and community.
Walker and Mitchell with fans at Cabbage Tree Island on Thursday.Credit: Instagram
“They were up at 4am, flew to Ballina, the police picked them up and they made themselves available all day.
“This was no 10-minute visit. They arrived at 9.30am and left at 2pm. There was a touch footy game, they signed shirts and footballs, had lunch with our community, took photos and listened to all the stories, just finding out about family connections.
“We’ve had some big events here, but this was like nothing I had ever experienced. The positivity was quite overwhelming.”
Mitchell and Walker showed some handy footwork on a playing surface that looked arguably better than the one expected at Suncorp Stadium.
Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker play touch with local Cabbage Tree Island kids.
Only a day earlier, the NRL handed down its sanctions to a young fan who hurled a racial slur at Mitchell at half-time during a game against Penrith in round two.
After witnessing the reception Mitchell received from the kids who will never forget hanging with their hero, it makes you wonder how such abuse is still possible.
Mitchell and Walker later drove to Brisbane with manager Matt Rose, and will rejoin their teammates for Friday’s captain’s run.
Mitchell had been supposed to attend a lunch for the Archibald Prize on Thursday in Sydney, with a portrait of him among the finalists. The winner will be announced on Saturday as Mitchell tries to produce his own masterpiece from the back against Melbourne.
Cook was hardly surprised when this masthead told him about the whereabouts of his fullback and five-eighth.
“But I’m also so proud to hear what they did,” he said.“I don’t know two prouder people of their culture and who stand up for their culture and set such a great example for the next generation coming through.
“I can’t speak highly enough about those guys. When we got on the plane we hadn’t seen them. None of us actually knew where they were.
“I thought they may have flown up earlier, or were flying at a later time. I thought it was a case of ‘Trell Air’ and the two were attending some junket. But knowing where they were is awesome to hear.”
Mitchell will feature in his first Magic Round since 2019. He was injured last year, suspended the year before, while COVID took care of the 2020 edition. This will be his first Magic Round appearance for Souths, the in-form club yet to drop a game at the weekend league love-in.
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