‘Faked being happy’: Latrell speaks on Burgess, injury Blues and arrest

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Rabbitohs superstar Latrell Mitchell has spoken for the first time on the most tumultuous year of his NRL career, revealing the drama that engulfed South Sydney and perceived preferential treatment “rattled me” as he “faked being happy” while fighting to clear his name in court.

In a revealing podcast interview with former Rabbitohs teammate Josh Mansour, Mitchell spoke candidly on a 2023 campaign that began with an arrest that has he and new teammate Jack Wighton considering civil action against ACT police, his injury management in NSW Origin camp and the Rabbitohs dramatic decline that prompted Sam Burgess’s abrupt exit.

“Everything that went on, you say it didn’t affect you as a person,” Mitchell told the Let’s Trot podcast when asked about Burgess’s departure as he and Jason Demetriou’s side battled for form before eventually missing the finals.

South Sydney’s fall from first place in May to ninth made for unwanted history as the greatest capitulation of the NRL era, and prompted scathing criticism of Mitchell from Rod Churchill, son of club great Clive, as well as intense focus on how he and star teammate Cody Walker are handled compared to their teammates.

Burgess raised several issues around standards with club management before ending his tenure and taking up a head coaching role at Warrington.

“It rattled me, I tell you what,” Mitchell said.

“But it is what it is. I’m over it now. It starts to drip into your personal life and footy. If you’re not happy off the field, you’re never going to perform on it.

“A lot of that trickled into all of our lives and everything that went on just happened. True colours come out when pressure’s applied. They’re not losses, they’re lessons and I’ll take them into 2024.”

As rugby league’s most recognisable player and South Sydney’s most influential figure, few in the NRL have occupied as intense a spotlight as Mitchell.

The 26-year-old told Mansour that that pressure weighed on him as the season wore on, and he struggled for form after returning from injury, lamenting that “I wasn’t looked after the way I should have been,” in recovering from a calf injury suffered in NSW Origin camp.

The calf injury that ruled Latrell Mitchell out of Origin II ended up sidelining him for more than two months.Credit: Brook Mitchell

“We started really well, unstoppable and [the Rabbitohs] defence was awesome,” Mitchell said.

“I got injured going into NSW camp, and it was just hard for me to come back and try and find that form again.

“Ten weeks [out injured] was too long, I wasn’t looked after the way I should’ve been, but it is what it is. I just couldn’t find that tick again.

“I was trying to chase that and [the narrative] that ‘oh it’s alright, Latrell’s back, we’ll be right, we’ll win again’, the pressure of that got to me a little bit. Other than that I think we just lost that drive and connection as well, confidence too.”

The handling of South Sydney players in Blues camp caused dramas throughout the series, with the club pushing for physio Eddie Farah to join NSW medical staff in camp – an unprecedented move that did not impress then-coach Brad Fittler.

Farah’s 17-year tenure at South Sydney ended as part of the club’s 2023 performance review that triggered an overhaul of Demetriou’s back-room staff.

All the while, Mitchell and Wighton had charges stemming from their February arrest when the latter was kicked out of a Canberra nightclub.

Charges against the pair were dropped after the most senior police officer involved in the arrest admitted to giving false evidence.

Mitchell’s solicitor Tom Taylor has previously indicated his belief the pair have sufficient grounds to take civil action as the Rabbitohs fullback detailed the toll his arrest took on him.

“It was a long 10 months, it just dragged on. I knew I was innocent the whole time, I was just trying to prove I’m a good person and trying to fake being happy for 10 months was hard. I’m glad it’s over …

“[With] footy it was a big thing. Obviously, trying to perform every day, turn up and perform knowing that’s still hanging over your head … ”

Mitchell returned to Rabbitohs training this week, having recorded the podcast with Mansour a few days earlier. A finger injury ruled Mitchell out of Australia’s Pacific Championship campaign but makes for what Mitchell says is his first uninterrupted pre-season in years.

Latrell Mitchell endured all manner of dramas in 2023.Credit: Getty

He spoke extensively of his love for the club and said he has “not delivered” a premiership in return, quipping that ideally he’d claim the Clive Churchill medal in the process too – a pointed reference to Rodney Churchill’s explosive critique of Mitchell.

The NRL ended the long-standing tradition of a Churchill family member presenting the grand final’s man-of-the-match award afterwards as Churchill apologised.

Mitchell also touched on his relationship with the Roosters – who he left for Souths in 2019 in a drawn-out contract saga – and the drama that often arises when he takes on his old club.

“I just let them know what they’re missing out on and what they let go in a way,” Mitchell said.

“I just love playing opposition [when] it’s someone that meant a lot to me. The Roosters meant a lot to me at the time and I felt like I gave a lot to that club.

“Just leaving that club on terms I didn’t want to leave on, but at the end of the day, it was for the better, I’m at home now at Souths … coming to Souths now I’ve been able to be myself, not have to prove to anyone who I am and what I stand for. I get backed from CEO down, from Russell down.

“Everything they’ve sacrificed for me and given to me, and I haven’t delivered since I’ve been there in a sense, [winning] a comp is something that everyone wants. To write my name in the books and maybe [win] a Clive Churchill along with that.”

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