The Rabbitohs boss insists the star fullback is a changed man.
Souths CEO Blake Solly has singled out Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker as being the main beneficiaries of Wayne Bennett’s return as head coach and says the NRL superstars are the fittest he’s ever seen. Bennett agreed to rejoin the club he took to the NRL grand final in 2021 and has a big job ahead this year as the Rabbitohs look to improve on their disappointing 16th-placed finish last season. And Solly says Mitchell in particular has been leading the way in pre-season.
The Bunnies’ disastrous 2024 campaign was plagued by on-field and off-field issues – many of which surrounded their star fullback. Mitchell suffered a foot injury that ended his campaign early and copped a $20,000 fine and one-game suspension over a white powder photo controversy that will see him miss round one in 2025. The 27-year-old was also suspended early in the season and came under fire for a foul-mouthed TV interview after a game.
Mitchell was read the riot act by Souths bosses in the off-season and Solly says it was the “wake-up call” the superstar No.1 needed. Mitchell reportedly demolished a bar at his home and replaced it with a gym after last season, in a clear indication he wants to hit the ground running in 2025 and the fullback has turned heads during pre-season with images of him looking lean and fit at Rabbitohs training.
Latrell Mitchell’s attitude praised after ‘wake-up call’
“Latrell’s challenges towards the back end of last year were pretty public,” Solly told SEN radio on Tuesday. “And he’s taken that as almost the wake-up call that he needed to concentrate on his family and his own fitness and make sure he’s started the pre-season in the best possible shape and credit to him, 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 and for him now I think it’s about preparing himself as best he can for his first game of the season.”
Solly praised Bennett for the influence he’s had on the playing group since returning to take over as head coach and admits it has been an easy transition because the 75-year-old already knows the administration and many of the players from his previous stint with the club. And the Rabbitohs CEO says no player has bought into Bennett’s hard-working mantra better than Mitchell.
He’s come back and he’s been pretty direct with the players about what he thought was lacking in the last couple of seasons and the sacrifices they’ve needed to make to get us back to the top of the table,” the Rabbitohs CEO said about Bennett. “I think you can see from the fitness of the players and their body shape and just the mentality around the building that they’ve taken that on board, and none more so than Latrell.”
The Bunnies boss also described veteran playmaker Walker as looking the fittest he’s ever seen and was confident that with the club’s best players on the park in 2025, they will be a premiership force once again. Souths were plagued by injuries to key players including Mitchell in 2024, with gun centre Campbell Graham also wiped out for the entire season with a sternum injury but set to return in 2025 after successful surgery.
Souths CEO calls on senior players to stand up in 2025
Broncos great Corey Parker said last week he reckons the Rabbitohs’ success in 2025 hinges on the performances of Mitchell and whether Bennett can get the best out of his superstar. But Solly insists the fullback shouldn’t carry the entire burden himself and says if the other senior members of the squad such as Walker, Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray stand up as well, then Souths will be finals contenders in 2025.
“I think all our senior leaders need to have that influence on the rest of the squad,” he added. “Each of them have shown during periods of last season where Latrell was fit and healthy, particularly that middle part of last season with him, Jack (Wighton), Cody (Walker) and Cameron (Murray) where we won six out of seven games and were almost unstoppable.
“When we were at our best last season and had something like our best team on the field, we were capable of beating anyone. And I think if we can do that again, then hopefully with the return of Campbell and Junior (Tatola) playing a lot more footy with some of the young guys that were exposed to a lot more first grade footy than we thought they would be, we’ve got a pretty compelling team and a team that’s going to threaten – hopefully – to win a premiership.”
