South Sydney have acknowledged “nothing less than a premiership will be a success for us now” as the club prepares to confirm on Wednesday that superstar Latrell Mitchell will be staying at Redfern until the end of 2027.
A four-year contract extension for Mitchell will be complemented by the news his good mate Cody Walker has also inked a two-year deal, which will keep him at the club until the end of 2025.
With Damien Cook also committed until the end of 2025, along with skipper Cameron Murray, Souths fans know their club is right in the middle of an NRL premiership window.
Mitchell had indicated several times recently that he was determined to remain at Souths for the long term, and the new deal is set to keep him at the foundation club until he is 30 – an age at which he has suggested he would retire.
Cook himself knows Souths are blessed with a star-studded roster, and after five successive preliminary finals, as well as the 2021 grand final loss to Penrith, the time was now.
“With the roster we have, nothing less than a premiership would be a success for us now,” Cook told the Herald. “I honestly believed whoever won the preliminary final between us and Penrith last season would have gone on to win the grand final.
Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker are the Rabbitohs’ trump cards.Credit:Getty
“That’s no disrespect to Parramatta, but we have been thereabouts the past five years, and next year we head into round one with the same squad again.”
Souths’ trump card is Mitchell, and if Mitchell fires next year, fans can start celebrating like it is 2014. Mitchell returned from the US following a stint with reconditioning specialist Bill Knowles in the middle of the season physically stronger and mentally fresher.
Cook said of Mitchell: “He looked outstanding at the World Cup, and he does so much away from the ball that people don’t realise.
“Latrell is a superstar. We all need to do our part at Souths, we need to get us down the field and put Latrell in the right position to do his thing.
“Every year when a team wins the comp, there is always that one player who has a blinder of the year, and I’m hoping that’s Latrell Mitchell next year.”
Souths had planned to announce Cook, Mitchell and Walker late last week, but the slight delay is expected to allow Mitchell and Walker’s family to be on hand for a significant day for the club.
The futures of Walker and Mitchell have been the subject of speculation ever since former Souths coach Wayne Bennett was confirmed as coach of NRL newcomers the Dolphins.
The chance to make regular escapes back home to Taree, the Rabbitohs’ deep Indigenous links and opportunity to win premierships was always going to make it difficult for Bennett or any other club to prize the 25-year-old fullback away from Souths.
Mitchell quipped at the World Cup he was prepared to sign a life-time deal with the Bunnies if owner Russell Crowe “threw in some cows”.
Apart from their ‘Big Four’, Souths also have try-scoring machine Alex Johnston, young forward Davvy Moale and halfback Lachlan Ilias going nowhere until 2025.
Coach Jason Demetriou was a standout in his first year as head coach, and followed the Bennett blueprint when it came to ensuring Mitchell peaked for the September finals.
Meanwhile, Cook has been mentoring fellow hookers Peter Mamouzelos and Romano Cook – no relation to Damien – and wants to make sure the club is in good hands when he does eventually depart his No. 9 post.
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