‘That jersey is mine’: Latrell issues Origin message to Burton after ‘scary’ display

Latrell Mitchell made a bold declaration about the New South Wales’ No. 3 jersey after starring in Souths’ win over the Bulldogs.

Latrell Mitchell dominated in his battle with Matt Burton.

Latrell Mitchell made a bold declaration about the New South Wales’ No. 3 jersey after starring in the Rabbitohs’ 36-28 win over the Bulldogs on Sunday.

It came after league great Cooper Cronk said Mitchell’s “scary” performance proved he could have the same impact on the Bunnies that Tom Trbojevic had on Manly last season.

A hamstring injury ruled Mitchell out of the first two games of this year’s Origin series. He was available for the decider but instead put a line through himself so he could focus on South Sydney.

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Matt Burton stepped into the centres for the Blues, but Mitchell made it clear that he wants his jersey back.

“I turned up to prove a point, and I did that,” the 25-year-old told reporters after the pair got in each other’s faces during the clash.

“I told you that three jersey is mine. Tonight I wanted to just prove that I’m here to play footy and I wanna enjoy that and then keep ticking boxes for South Sydney.

“But big credit to the lad (Burton) — he really showed up. He had to back up from Origin (and) it was a big tough game.”

Latrell Mitchell and Matt Burton went head-to-head. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Mitchell also conceded that ruling himself out of Origin III was “the hardest decision I’ve had to make personally” but reiterated that “I didn’t want to be selfish in that space”.

Mitchell finished with a try, three try assists, a linebreak, three linebreak assists, three offloads, nine tackle busts and 116 running metres.

He particularly turned things up a notch in the final 15 minutes of the game when the Bulldogs were in the lead.

Cronk believes Mitchell’s last fortnight is a “scary” warning shot for the rest of the competition and puts the Rabbitohs right in the frame for a big finals series.

“That is scary. That is intimidating,” Cronk said.

“He went away for 12 weeks, got his body right and his mind right. I’ve played with and against Latrell and I’ve never seen him so committed, so dialled in.

“He literally wants to throw South Sydney on his back and it’s a scary sign for the rest of the competition because that and what he’s done the last two weeks, that makes South Sydney scary towards the back end of this season.

“You talk about Tom Trbojevic … he’s arguably been the best player on the field in these three games back. In terms of what South Sydney can do in the finals, absolutely he can have an impact.

Mitchell is the key to Souths’ finals drive. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“This game was in the balance with the Bulldogs leading after 60 minutes 22-16 and Latrell Mitchell with one run and about five broken tackles and a right fend into (Josh) Addo-Carr’s chest turned this game on its head.

“He inspired his teammates and they went on a run. Paul Vaughan scored, but then everything after that was all South Sydney.

“When the game and his side needed it Latrell Mitchell stood up.”

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Originally published as ‘That jersey is mine’: Latrell issues Origin message to Burton after ‘scary’ display