Latrell Mitchell flick pass leads the Roosters to grand final glory

He was quiet for most of the game, but in one crucial moment Latrell Mitchell saved the game for the Roosters and sent himself into grand final folklore.

First we had the Benji Marshall flick.

Now we have the Mitchell flick.

Axed NSW Origin star Latrell Mitchell conjured a special form of magic to stun the Green Machine and inspire the Sydney Roosters’ braveheart 14-8 premiership triumph at ANZ Stadium.

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For the past 14 years, Wests Tigers’ whizkid Benji Marshall’s magical flick pass for Pat Richards’ try in the 2005 decider against the Cowboys has held a rarified place in NRL grand-final folklore.

Now Marshall has been joined in the pantheon of wizardry by Mitchell, who hauled the Roosters out of hot water against a rampaging Canberra side with a moment of brilliance only the special players can produce.

Latrell Mitchell set up the moment that won the Roosters the game. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Under siege for much of the second half, the Roosters looked in trouble entering the hour mark with scores locked at 8-all and the Raiders becoming emboldened with every passing minute as a Bondi boilover loomed.

Enter Latrell.

Just 60 seconds after referee Ben Cummins controversially ruled a set of six for the Raiders on the Roosters tryline, only to change his mind and hand the defending premiers possession, Mitchell struck.

Approaching halfway, the Roosters spun the ball wide to Luke Keary in the 73rd minute. He shifted quickly to Mitchell. In a nanosecond, Mitchell speared towards Canberra opposite BJ Leilua and flicked superbly to his outside man Daniel Tupou.

James Tedesco goes in for the match-winning try. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Finally, the Roosters had space. Tupou looked up and pinned the ears back. The Canberra cover converged, but Tupou was at full speed and he calmly drew the fullback for the talismanic James Tedesco to streak away.

Bang. Game Over. Roosters seal back-to-back premierships.

“He took that chance,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson said of Mitchell’s play. “Latrell had to catch and pass and flick and he practises it all the time.

“It’s a trained skill. I love to see Latrell do that and then he hit the conversion after it, he had to kick it and he did.”

While Tedesco will steal the newsprint given his barnstorming Dally M season, Mitchell deserves his share of kudos.

It has been a turbulent, emotionally-draining campaign for Mitchell. He may be an NRL superstar but he is still only 22 years old and few men his age have encountered on and off-field brickbats replete with a NSW Origin axing and a social-media racism attack.

But the code’s greatest players stand up on the big stage and when it mattered most, Mitchell demonstrated why he is the NRL’s most devastating centre.

It is a testament to Mitchell’s mental strength that he held his nerve to catch the Raiders napping in the dying minutes of the decider.

Latrell Mitchell celebrates victory after the match. Picture: Brett Costello

Mitchell finished with 57 metres from six runs, but the gravity of his flick pass was enormous, creating the saloon passage for Tupou to put Tedesco away.

Tedesco was equally opportunistic. The Roosters fullback wasn’t at his sublime best last night and for most of the night the Green Machine did superbly well to muzzle him. But no opposition defence can ever rest with Tedesco and when Mitchell released Tupou, there was only ever going to be one man trailing inside in support — the newly-crowned Dally M winner.

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Mitchell’s sleight-of-hand would have eased the nerves of halfback teammate Cooper Cronk.

It was supposed to be a fairytale ending for the retiring Cronk but a nightmare was looming when the champion No.7 was sensationally sin-binned in the 50th minute for taking out a potentially trybound Josh Papalii.

The Cronk moment shaped as the turning point that could trigger a Canberra onslaught, but the Roosters came off the ropes ... and Mitchell helped deliver the knockout blow.