NRL news: Latrell Mitchell eyes Dally M, premiership with Souths in bold 2023 wish list

Latrell Mitchell says he’s fitter than ever before in his career - and is ready for a NSW Blues recall after a shock snubbing in 2022, writes Phil Rothfield.

Latrell M art for guide

Latrell Mitchell is setting his goals high this season.

The man who clicks turnstiles and attracts more TV eyeballs than any other player has done and won just about everything in rugby league – a premiership, a State of Origin series, a World Cup.

Now the Rabbitohs superstar wants a Dally M Medal – to be better than Tedesco, Turbo, Cleary, Hynes or any of the champions of the game.

It’s one of two goals he has set himself for the 2023 season – to be crowned the best player in rugby league and to win the premiership with the Rabbitohs.

“You’ve got to chase greatness,” he tells The Daily Telegraph.

“I’m hungrier than ever before.

“The Dally M is one of those things I’d love to tick off. Why not? It would be really special.

“There are so many great players so it’s going to be hard. Even the players in my team are taking points off each other … but I know it’s achievable.”

What has worked against Latrell with individual awards in previous seasons is that he has lacked consistency.

Latrell Mitchell wants to be the best player in rugby league - and plans to prove it in 2023.

One week he is the best player in rugby league bar none – a game-breaking powerhouse and an unstoppable force in the Souths backline that can destroy any opposition.

The next week he can struggle to back it up with the same level of involvement.

Mitchell is the first to admit that it’s an area of his game he wants to improve.

“I can do it all on a football field but there’s improvement in me for sure,” he says.

“It’s about doing it consistently and playing good footy week to week.

“Getting into each game. Staying in the game longer. I’m not your regular fullback.

“I tend to show myself when needed. Maybe I’ll start the process a bit earlier.

“Plus working on my defensive organisation is important in getting the boys where we need to be.”

From a fitness level, Latrell has never been in better shape.

Latrell ‘Trellianz’ Mitchell.

Trell the true Blue.

There is no question he is ready to make an early impact, starting with Cronulla on Saturday.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself but I’m going to start strong,” he says.

“I came back after the World Cup with a goal with my weight, something I’ve never worried all that much about during the off-season.

“I’ve worked hard on myself mentally and physically and I feel really good … three or four kilos under my normal playing weight for the first time ever.

“It’s been a real lifestyle change which comes down to your eating and we have a great nutritionist, Alice Sharples, at Souths.

“She’s really hard on a few of the boys, myself included, and it’s making a huge difference.”

The hard physical work on his farm for six weeks over the summer obviously helped as well.

Every day he was working on the property.

“We probably put in 140 posts around the farm,” he says. “We’re not professionals and just learning along the way. But it helped keep the weight off.”

Mitchell is now 25 and about to enter his eighth season of NRL.

It’s an age and level of experience where the great players are ready to peak.

We’re chatting on the eve of the kick-off before he heads off to the Souths season launch.

The Rabbitohs face a huge early test against Cronulla at Shark Park, then the Panthers at Penrith and arch-rivals the Roosters at Allianz Stadium.

The rivalry with his old club the Roosters is what this great player loves more than anything else.

He laughs and even calls Allianz Stadium Trellianz Stadium as we talk about the round three blockbuster. It’s the first time these two sides have met since seven players were sin-binned in last season’s unforgettable knockout final.

I ask Mitchell if the rivalry and hate has gotten out of hand.

That the fans turn up to watch footy, not what we saw last season when both sides had only 11 players at different stages.

Last year’s Roosters-Rabbitohs clash exploded - and Mitchell loved it.

Even after spending two months in England as a teammate of Roosters stars James Tedesco, Lindsay Collins and Angus Crichton at the World Cup, nothing has changed.

“The game you are talking about was actually an enjoyable one to be part of,” he says.

“Let’s be serious - it’s the game everyone talks about.

“I love it. It’s a great rivalry and it’s good for rugby league.

“It’s my favourite game of the year, 100 per cent

“Playing against them feels like an Origin game. That’s what the feeling’s like.

“You don’t want boys sent to the bin but it’s part of the game.

“And at the end of it all, what happens on the field stays on the field.”

As for the season ahead, he sounds so motivated and so hungry.

He credits coach Jason Demetriou throughout the interview, the untried coach who stepped in for Wayne Bennett last year.

“I love the bloke,” Mitchell says. “I say that with an open heart.

“He’s just the guy we needed when Wayne left. He’s very genuine. We get on like a house on fire. A good family man with three daughters. He’s created an environment that all the boys have bought into. Where you can express yourself and be yourself. It’s working out really well.”

Mitchell with Rabbitohs head coach Jason Demetriou. Picture: Getty

He also still stays in touch with Bennett.

“Wayne’s Wayne - you loved him because he wanted to be part of your life, not just your football each week,” Mitchell says. “He invests in his players. I learnt a lot from him about leadership.

“I still ring him every now and then for some guidance. Probably three weeks ago. We talk about cows and farms, not footy.”

Finally we get around to State of Origin and his passion for the Blues jersey.

Typical of Latrell, he gives himself a rap: “We only seem to win when me and Turbo are playing.”

He then starts laughing.

He’s happy and raring to go.

Originally published as NRL news: Latrell Mitchell eyes Dally M, premiership with Souths in bold 2023 wish list