NRL 2022: Damien Cook dismisses talk Latrell Mitchell should move from fullback to centre at Souths
South Sydney hooker Damien Cook has given short shrift to the view that Latrell Mitchell should be moved back to the centres for his own preservation.
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South Sydney hooker Damien Cook loves the energy that Blake Taaffe brings to the football field. He is also an admirer of the impact Latrell Mitchell can have on a rugby league game when he plays fullback and that is why Cook gives short shrift to the view that the Rabbitohs superstar should be shifted back to the centres for his own preservation.
“We have seen what he can do in the centres — him and Turbo (Tom Trbojevic) are the best centre pairing in NSW and last year showed that,” Cook said.
“But also the sight of Latrell returning the ball from fullback, your sets are always off to a great start, we are always on the front foot, and him out the back in shape draws so many defenders.
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“If he is not running himself, he is drawing three defenders in and someone else is scoring. So I love ‘Trell at fullback.”
Souths will be without Mitchell for up to eight weeks after he tore a tendon in his hamstring, leaving Taaffe to deputise over a two-month period that could be significant in the Rabbitohs’ season.
He and Souths have been down this path before. Taaffe handled himself with aplomb when he was thrust into the No.1 jersey in last year’s finals series after Mitchell was suspended for his high shot on Sydney Roosters centre Joey Manu.
Taaffe will take to the field on Good Friday with the words of Mitchell ringing in his ears.
“He came up to me on Monday at the cafe at Redfern and said ... ‘just like last year do your thing, I’m behind you’,” Taaffe said.
“He said we’ll do it together. I’m so thankful for how good he is to me. It’s tough. I’ve worked closely with Latrell over the pre-season, I know how hard he has worked to get where he is, and to come across another hamstring injury, I really feel for him.
“He brings a lot of energy and I thrive off the little stuff he does. I look up to him as a player and a bloke. He’s only two years older than me but he’s a gentleman.”
Cook insists that Souths are in good hands.
“He is different to Latrell,” Cook said of Taaffe. “He is very busy and he just attacks everything. I love that about him — short sides, offloads, he is around the ball.
“So when good things happen, he is bobbing up and putting himself in the right position. He has a lot of energy. He is ready to go at all times.”
Taaffe won’t be trying to impersonate Mitchell against Canterbury at Accor Stadium on Friday. He will play to his own strengths. He will play with energy and enthusiasm.
“I won’t pull any tricks out of my hat, I’ll just go out and do my job,” he said.
“My job is simple, catch the ball on the full, do my effort areas around the ball, and don’t let anyone score. I won’t go out and try to do anything crazy.
“I’m not looking at [the No.1] long term now. If they have me in the No.14 jersey I’m happy with that. I’ll try to bring energy off the bench, most of the boys see me as the energiser bunny, so I’ll do that the best I can.”
While Cook insists Souths are in good hands, he also expects Mitchell to be back sooner than predicted.
A day after he was ruled out for two months, Mitchell wore a broad smile at Souths training on Tuesday. He was there to lend support and encouragement, at one point seen in conversation with Taaffe.
“It is a big blow only because of the presence he has on the field — he is such a superstar player,” Cook said.
“You get a lot of confidence when he is there. I think he will be back before eight weeks for sure. I know he will do his best to get a lot earlier for sure this year. We’re lucky we have someone like Blake Taaffe. We know what he can do.”
Bolter emerges in race for Latrell’s Origin spot
-Brent Read
Steve Crichton, Jack Wighton and bolter Matt Burton head an all-star cast jostling to replace sidelined Latrell Mitchell in the centres for NSW in the opening game of the State of Origin series.
South Sydney and the Blues were rocked on Monday when Mitchell was sidelined for eight weeks, a tear in the tendon in his hamstring doing what numerous opponents have been unable to do over the years — stop one of the game’s best players.
NSW coach Brad Fittler was weighing up his alternatives on Monday, although Mitchell retains the slimmest of hopes to be back in time given Origin I is on June 8 – just over eight weeks away.
If he fails to beat the clock, Crichton and Wighton are at the front of a long queue that also includes the likes of Canterbury five-eighth Burton, Newcastle’s Bradman Best, Brisbane’s Kotoni Staggs, St George Illawarra’s Zac Lomax and South Sydney’s Campbell Graham.
Crichton and Wighton would appear the frontrunners given they have been part of the Blues squad in recent years, while Burton’s form in the centres for Penrith last year put him on the NSW radar, although his cause won’t be helped by his shift to No.6 and the Bulldogs’ woes.
Regardless of who lines up in the centres, Mitchell’s absence shapes as a huge blow for the Blues. So too for South Sydney, even though coach Jason Demetriou is able to call on Blake Taaffe to fill the void.
Since switching to the Rabbitohs from the Roosters after the 2019 grand final, Mitchell has played 35 NRL games but missed 20 through either injury or suspension.
Demetriou put on a brave face on Monday afternoon as he spoke about the opportunity for Taaffe to get an extended run in the team — the young fullback made his first appearance of the season on Saturday night after returning from injury.
“I am excited about Blake playing in some mid-season games,” Demetriou said.
“Last year he had one or two games and was then thrown into a finals series. I think we are in a pretty decent place. Having Blake there is lucky big time. It saves me having to ask where we’re going to play him for the next eight weeks.
“It’s next man up. That’s how we have to approach it.”
Souths officials feared Mitchell could face a long stint on the sidelines after he limped from the field on Saturday night but Monday’s news was worse than expected.
South Sydney head physio Eddie Farah revealed the hamstring tear was in the tendon rather than the muscle, which meant an extended recovery for Mitchell.
“Unfortunately the MRI scan he had the next day confirmed what we expected,” Farah said.
“There was a definite tear in the hamstring. The tear was located in the tendon rather than the muscle. What that means is recovery is going to be a lot slower. The tendon will heal slower than the muscle.”
Demetriou insisted the club would take their time with Mitchell and not rush him back, their hope that some time on the sidelines will also allow him to overcome a knee issue that had troubled him through the early stages of the year.
Worryingly for the Rabbitohs, Mitchell has missed 20 of a possible 55 matches through suspension or injury since joining the club in the 2020 season and he is yet to play a finals game for Souths.
“He’s been battling a little niggle in his knee and this will give us a chance to get that right,” Demetriou said. “It also gives us a chance to get him fully fit for the back end of the year and get him back for Origin. We won’t be bringing him back until he is 100 per cent fit.”
Demetriou insisted there were no concerns with Mitchell’s hamstring even though it was the same leg he had previously injured.
“It was 18 months ago he did the first one,” he said.
“He played all last year and didn’t have a problem at all. The big thing for me is we will have him at the back end of the year when we really need him.”
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