Cody Walker has hailed the bravery of Latrell Mitchell after the South Sydney superstar stood up in his NRL return and delivered a remarkable play to help the Rabbitohs claim a dramatic win.
Leading an injury-ravaged team while filling in at five-eighth, Mitchell threw a daring 70th minute cutout ball to Bunnies winger Isaiah Tass to seal a 20-14 win over the Sydney Roosters on Friday.
Souths coach Wayne Bennett ranked the victory, which gives the Redfern club a 4-1 start to 2025, as one of the greatest of a near 50-year coaching career.
Bennett’s bold claim was as a result of the carnage that Souths had to contend with, being 14-8 down midway through the second half and playing the final 30 minutes with just 14 fit players.
Five-eighth Walker, halfback Jamie Humphreys and winger Mikaele Ravalawa all limped out of action with hamstring issues and are in doubt for next week’s clash with the North Queensland Cowboys in Perth.
But rather than go into his shell, Mitchell carried Souths to victory, brushing off a couple of stray passes and a butchered 40/20 attempt to come up with the clutch play.
“He had the courage… in the first half he nearly got intercepted,” Walker said.
“You saw in the first half where he nearly got intercepted, to have the courage to do that – that’s what ‘Trell brings.
“That’s his strength, he’s got that skill… he is him.”
Mitchell – named to start at centre before filling in for Walker as a makeshift No. 6 – will be pivotal to Souths’ hopes next week.
The injuries to Walker, Humphreys and Ravalawa add to a casualty ward that also contains Campbell Graham, Tyrone Munro and Alex Johnston.
But they left Bennett feeling emboldened.
“It’s what you want your team to do, it’s what you want to be a part of knowing that they won’t give up,” Bennett said.
“Words don’t explain it well enough. It’s the actions, and they’ll stay in your memory for a long time.”
Walker was keen to stress his injury was not too big a concern.
Englishman Lewis Dodd is likely to get a nod to come into the halves with utility Jayden Sullivan, who set up Jye Gray’s 64th minute equaliser on Friday, shining bright in the absence of Humphreys.
“It’s just a bit of tightness, I’m not sure how severe that is, I’ll get a scan over the next couple of days and see, I feel it’s on the minor side,” Walker said.
