Josh Addo-Carr would have loved to have seen his good friend Latrell Mitchell cap a rollercoaster week by being handed the Indigenous All Stars captaincy.
Cody Walker was confirmed as the man to lead the Indigenous side into battle with the Maori All Stars on Saturday evening, but Addo-Carr, last year’s skipper, said Mitchell, who has been by far the biggest drawcard at open training sessions during the week in Rotorua, would not have disappointed.
“Latrell has a presence he brings to a footy team, he puts fear into the opposition, he’s a good person – he cares about the players next to him – it’s as simple as that, which is what makes him a good leader,” Addo-Carr told the Herald.
“You see how close Souths are as a team, and how much respect they had for him after he spent a huge stint off the field last year [over-coming injury].
“There was nothing better than me [captaining last year]. I’m spewing I’m not playing. I’m not getting any younger, and when they announced the team, I had only been back pre-season training for three-and-a-half week. I’ll watch them on Saturday. We’ll be in Kiama somewhere. I will be emotional when watching the boys do the war cry.
“But with ‘Trell’, he gives a team confidence, and his leadership off the field speaks for itself. If Trell is carving up, the whole team carves up.”
Josh Addo-Carr says Latrell Mitchell would have been a great captain for the Indigenous All Stars team.
Mitchell and Canberra ace Jack Wighton were arrested in Canberra in the early hours of Sunday morning and charged with fighting in a public place. Mitchell was also charged with resisting arrest. The duo were given a hero’s reception when they entered the team room at the Indigenous All Stars’ Sydney hotel together just after 9pm on Sunday night.
Addo-Carr said the footage of four police officers pinning Mitchell to the ground during his arrest had been tough to watch. The pair were cleared by the NRL to play in the All Stars game, but certain to miss one or two games once they have had their day in court.
“It was very tough [watching the footage], and you don’t want that stuff to happen to anyone,” Addo-Carr said. “I thought [the police] went overboard watching it. He was in pain.
“I think it was a misunderstanding with everyone [involved]. The boys are good. They’re family. They were mucking around.”
Meanwhile, Addo-Carr said he had enjoyed playing outside rookie centres Paul Alamoti and Jeral Skelton – the cousin of former Wallabies lock Will Skelton – during pre-season. The pair will both feature in Sunday’s opening trial against Canberra.
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