‘The wake-up call that he needed’: Latrell Mitchell impresses South Sydney bosses after the year from hell

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Souths and Latrell Mitchell last year, but one of the club’s most influential figures is ready to bounce back.

Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly says Latrell Mitchell’s troubled 2024 campaign was the “wake-up call that he needed” and has praised his superstar fullback for leading the way during the 2025 pre-season under Wayne Bennett.

The master coach has returned to the club for a second stint having taken them to the 2021 grand final before he headed north to lead the Dolphins.

Bennett had left the club in a strong position, and while they made the preliminary final the following season, the wheels fell off midway through 2023 and things only got worse last year and cost Jason Demetriou his job.

Solly has been impressed with Bennett’s approach in the pre-season where he’s made it pretty clear that things must change after they finished down in 16th spot last year.

Latrell Mitchell has had a strong pre-season under the guidance of Wayne Bennett. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

His most important task is getting Mitchell back to his brilliant best, with injuries and suspensions limiting him to a career-low 11 appearances last season.

Mitchell showed just how damaging he could be with a standout showing for the Blues, but a serious foot injury ended his State of Origin campaign, with the fullback missing the final two months of the season to go with a massive fine and a suspension after he was photographed with a mystery substance.

Bennett knows how to get the best out of his players, and Solly says Mitchell has benefited greatly from having him back at the club.

“He’s come back and he’s been pretty direct with the players about what he thought we were lacking in the past couple of seasons and the sacrifices they’d have to make to get us back to the top of the table,” he said on Mornings with Matt White on SEN.

“I think you can see from the fitness of the players and their body shape and their mentality around the building that they’ve taken that on-board, and none more so than Latrell.

Latrell Mitchell only played 11 games for the Rabbitohs last season. Picture: Rabbitohs

“Latrell’s challenges towards the back end of last year were pretty public.

“He’s taken that as probably the wake-up call that he needed to concentrate on his family, his own fitness and to make sure that he started the pre-season in the best possible shape.

“Credit to him because he’s been wonderful. He’s led a lot of the drills and you can see from photos of him just how fit he is. For him now, I think it’s about preparing himself as best as he can for his first game of the season.”

Souths won just seven games last season, but showed they could compete with the top sides during an impressive run before things fell apart later in the season.

The Rabbitohs narrowly avoided the wooden spoon in 2024. Picture: NRL Photos

One of their biggest issues was keeping their stars on the park, with Mitchell, Campbell Graham and Junior Tatola just some of the key men who will be back fit and firing in 2025.

“There were periods of last season when Latrell was fit and healthy, particularly in that middle part of the season when he, Jack (Wighton), Cody (Walker) and Cameron (Murray) helped us win six out of seven games,” Solly said.

“We were almost unstoppable, so I think all of the club hopes that we can keep them all on the field for the whole of the season and that they have that influence because when we were at our best last season, we were capable of beating anyone.

“If we can do that again, hopefully with the return of Campbell and Junior playing a lot more footy with some of the young guys that were exposed at the end of last season to a lot more first grade than we ever thought they would be, then we’ve got a compelling team and a team that will hopefully threaten to win a premiership.”