South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell laughed when asked if he stayed down to milk penalties during Sunday’s epic against the Sydney Roosters.
“Well, call me ‘Trell Milk’, now,” Mitchell quipped on Tuesday morning.
“I know that’s a thing.
“I play the game hard and tough, I never felt the forces they [the Roosters] brought – I think they were head-hunting a bit.
“If the bunker doesn’t see it and the ref doesn’t see it, that’s the game.
“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t lay down, I got up on one knee, and pretty much looked at the ref and was like, ‘what’s going on?’
Latrell Mitchell quipped they were now calling him ‘Trell Milk’ after claims of staying down for penalties.Credit:Getty Images
“We don’t lay down for penalties, and we don’t look for them.
“The bunker has taken over the game. That’s how the game is played.”
The old debate about players staying down in the hope of winning a penalty if there is contact with the head is a hot topic again following Sunday’s spiteful clash won by Souths.
After a first-half tackle, Mitchell shook his head, looked at Ashley Klein and waited to play the ball as the bunker reviewed the incident and awarded Souths a penalty.
Latrell Mitchell stays down after being collected high by Sio Siua Taukeiaho
The Souths ace had every right to wait for the bunker to intervene.
NRL head of football Graham Annesley admitted on Monday to having concerns for players waiting for bunker intervention, while Roosters coach Trent Robinson on Sunday said when asked about players staying down: “I have an opinion on us and that’s that we won’t do it, it’s not going to happen.”
Roosters skipper James Tedesco, who failed to finish the game, said about the issue of gamesmanship: “It’s definitely something we don’t do. It’s not in the spirit of the game to stay down. We’re tough footy players, we run 100 miles an hour into each other, there will be contact and you get hit the head, it will happen.
“The bunker will pick up things the refs don’t … it’s hard to comment on it.”
My House: Latrell Mitchell roars to the crowd after nailing a sideline conversion.Credit:Getty
Meanwhile, Mitchell said he took a lot of satisfaction out of the weekend win over their bitter rivals, especially given the intense build-up which featured calls for his old Roosters supporters to boo him in moderation.
Mitchell choked up when the large Souths supporter base started cheering him wildly when his face was beamed on to the Allianz Stadium big screen when about to be interviewed by Brad Fittler after the game.
“I was trying to talk, but I choked up a bit,” Mitchell said.
“I felt a lot of gratitude, there was a wave of emotion, and it was a long time coming.
“I worked really hard on myself mentally and physically, it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for ‘Trell Mit’.
“But I’ve enjoyed the sacrifices I’ve had to make, including leaving the country to do what I have to do. I took a lot of confidence out of it.”
Mitchell has enjoyed close to career-best form after heading to the US in the middle of the year to work on his fitness and hamstrings.
One of his few slip-ups in the back half of the regular season was him missing three field-goal attempts en route to a golden-point loss to Cronulla, Saturday’s opponents.
He quipped he would practice with his left and right boot all week should the semi-final clash against the Sharks go down to the wire again.
As for playing a third straight week at their preferred new Allianz Stadium home, Mitchell said, “they should take the Roosters [signage] down and put the Rabbitoh up”.
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