Latrell Mitchell gets through first South Sydney training | Photos
Latrell Mitchell started his new life with the South Sydney Rabbitohs with an intense field session on Monday morning, admitting the next eight weeks are going to be even tougher.
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Latrell Mitchell is determined to step out of the shadow of Greg Inglis but it was the former club great who was in the shadow of the new recruit during training on Tuesday morning.
The former Sydney Roosters centre arrived at Redfern Oval for his first session as a Rabbitoh with Inglis keeping a watchful eye over proceedings.
Inglis and Mitchell were spotted exchanging intel during the session. Inglis could be seen giving Latrell tips and feedback following a defensive drill.
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The 22-year old admitted he was slightly tentative about his first 7.30am start of the summer as the new South Sydney recruit turned up for the first hit-out of his NRL pre-season and as a Bunny.
With the bulk of the side’s fitness and conditioning completed already, Mitchell was thrown straight into the deep end in an intense field session.
The aspiring fullback, who admitted he has a bit of work to do over the next eight weeks, got through the session without too much trouble but the “hands on hips” stance surfaced around the 90-minute mark on Tuesday. Not long after Mitchell was given an early shower as the rest of the playing group finished-up the final stages of the session.
Outside back James Roberts was on hand to help guide his new teammate around the training paddock as Mitchell’s familiarised himself with coach Wayne Bennett’s systems and structures.
Roberts even buddied-up with Mitchell as the pair completed extra running drills to the squad.
Mitchell’s showing was enough for hooker Damien Cook to even joke that the two-time premiership winner had Roberts’ measure.
“He had Jimmy ‘The Jet’ covered in fitness still. He’s a drag racer Jimmy, he only runs fast when he needs to. I think he was fine today, we had a pretty solid session and he was still there at the end. That’s a good sign to get through that one first day back,” Cook told The Daily Telegraph.
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Recently retired Rabbitohs greats Sam Burgess and fellow forward John Sutton also contributed to the session in their new roles as part of the club’s coaching staff.
Burgess, in particular, was vocal during training providing words of motivation to his former teammates. At times he even took part in some of the ball work drills.
After months of speculation, Mitchell was released from the final year of his deal with back-to-back premiers, the Sydney Roosters to join the Rabbitohs from 2020.
The former Tricolours centre shunned a lucrative four-year contract with the Wests Tigers believed to be worth $1 million a season to sign a one-year deal with an option in season 2021 at Redfern.
Cook, who got to know Mitchell during NSW Blues camp, was relieved the youngster opted to commit his future at the Rabbitohs.
“The first thing he said to me is that I could leave him alone now because I was pestering every week on social media while he was away just seeing what was going on and when he was going to hurry up and sign [with us]. I was trying to encourage it,” Cook said.
“It’s great to have him. He’s a quality player and one of the best players in the world at the moment.”
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Originally published as Latrell Mitchell gets through first South Sydney training | Photos