Box office: Latrell Mitchell roars to the crowd after nailing a sideline conversion against the Roosters.Credit:Getty
Use that wisely, please, Latrell Mitchell asks as he walks through The Midland Hotel lobby following a lengthy interview inside the Kangaroos’ Manchester headquarters.
He knows the contents of the interview he finally agreed to do — if written and used in a certain way — could provide his detractors with the ammunition to once again take aim at him.
In the 27 minutes he spends answering questions and providing an insight into his frame of mind, he also provides plenty of headlines.
Booing wasn’t racially motivated, but I used it as a tactic to bait Roosters;
The Roosters have forgotten I was there;
I’ll sign a lifetime deal with Souths if Russell throws in some cows.
Then the story you didn’t expect.
“I have actually been journalling,” Mitchell reveals as he details his bout of homesickness when he first arrived in England with the Kangaroos a month ago.
“I was feeling like shit, so I started writing. I have never, ever done it, so I thought I would have a go. That is why I have been feeling a lot happier. It’s very powerful. I will write a few things I am grateful for like Jack [Wighton] and Foxx [Josh Addo-Carr] and the way they have spoken to me and kept me in line since I have been here.
Latrell Mitchell scores for Australia during their World Cup opening win over Fiji.Credit:NRL Photos
“I have been writing a lot of things down when things didn’t go my way. How did I feel? What emotions? How did I react? I will read it back to myself and go: ‘actually, I was stupid’. There is so much funny shit in it.”
Mitchell brought over the diary from home. He had kept it inside his car, often jotting down notes for his clothing business as ideas came to mind.
When he packed his bags for England he threw it in his suitcase, unaware that each night before bed he’d be recounting his day signing off each page with “Trell Mit”.
Since returning from a rehab and study trip in the United States earlier this year, Mitchell is a changed man.
“To be honest when I came back I didn’t give a f—,” Mitchell said.
“America is a different world compared to us. They are very arrogant and confident at the same time. It is something I took out of it. The way I started to talk was taking a bit out of it. Why not? I don’t see why we can’t.
Box-office gold: Latrell MitchellCredit:Getty
“You put a bit of pressure on yourself here and there and my missus always used to get up me a bit for it. But at the end of the day I put up with it. I am shining a light on the game and creating a more fun space and safer space.”
THE TRANSFORMATION
When you ask Latrell Mitchell about the lessons he has learned throughout his career, he is very quick to fire back a response.
“Make your circle small, don’t focus on the hype and let your rugby league do the talking,” he says.
The transformation has been evident both on and off the field. He considers himself a leader in the Indigenous community, priding himself on educating the next generation of Australians in the hope of uniting the many cultures within.
“It’s getting better, but there are a lot of fellas [for whom] we won’t be able to change their minds, Mitchell said.
“I’m content with that. I just want to change the next generation to make sure they’re culturally sensitive. That’s all I want. And if you’re going to be racist, just say it to yourself. There’s no need to say it out loud.”
Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell at the 2021 Indigenous and Maori All-Stars match.Credit:NRL Photos
During a weekend trip to Edinburgh a few weeks ago, the Kangaroos visited many pubs wearing traditional Scottish attire.
Mitchell made a point of entering each venue to seek permission to enter the pub wearing the attire of their homeland.
“I made sure out of respect – that’s how I am,” he said.
“Every pub we went to I made sure if it was OK to do it. They said ‘yeah, we love it’. We brought the energy to the pub. I know from myself of being a proud man of my heritage I wouldn’t want someone doing that.
“It’s like me going to Queensland and asking permission to go fishing. It’s the same thing. It’s respect. My dad taught me that.”
THE ROOSTERS
According to people at the Rabbitohs, they believed certain Roosters fans were guilty of vocalising racial views when they booed Latrell Mitchell following their final-round victory over the Bunnies at the new Allianz Stadium in September.
Rabbitohs officials expressed concerns that the jeering was racially motivated. Mitchell, though, didn’t believe that was the case.
He revealed he used the surrounding hysteria to his and South Sydney’s advantage when they met and knocked out the Roosters out of the finals at the same ground the following week in a spiteful match which saw seven players sent to the bin.
“I used you (media) to my advantage and the Roosters took the bait. I was throwing the line out and I caught a big one.”
Latrell Mitchell
“Nah, there was nothing more to it,” Mitchell said when asked if he believed race was a motivator for the reaction of the Roosters’ fans.
“I was just hyping it up. You have to. I used that to my advantage as well. I was the calmest bloke in that game when we played them and that is why we won.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves argues with referee Ashley Klein.Credit:Getty
“I used you (media) to my advantage and the Roosters took the bait. I was throwing the line out and I caught a big one. You have to utilise your tools, and I am starting to learn a lot more about that.”
While there is no love lost between Mitchell and the Roosters, especially after the incident with Joey Manu last year, the 25-year-old admits he regrets the way his exit panned out. He says he could have done things differently, but now knows where he stands with the club.
“I think all the Roosters have forgotten I was there and what I have done for them,” he said.
“It is what it is. You have to move on with life. The opportunities I have created for myself since being at Souths have been second to none. It is life changing.
“All I need is one person to believe in me. Wayne Bennett was always that person. My mum, my dad. I just needed that one person believing and telling me ‘be you, do you’.”
He’s found a home at South Sydney and will put the finishing touches on a new deal with the Rabbitohs when he returns to Australia at the end of the World Cup.
A lifetime deal, perhaps?
“Hopefully,” he says. “If Russell [Crowe] throws in some cows for [my farm] I might stay.”
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