Latrell Mitchell reminded the NRL world that he is a natural on the microphone after Souths’ dominant 48-6 win over the Storm on Saturday.
After being awarded the Spirit of the Anzac Medal for best on ground, Mitchell gave fans a rare sound bite, which was met with huge cheers from the crowd that remained at AAMI Park for the post-match ceremony.
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“I just want to say thank you to all tonight. Today is based on memory of the people before us. I am a proud Aboriginal man, I love my culture, I love this country and appreciate everyone who fought for it,” Mitchell said post-match on Saturday night.
“Thank you for tonight keep your loved ones close. It is very special. Thank you Melbourne you always turn it on.
“But South Sydney for the first time in 30 years, we made history. Love the boys, thank you all.”
You can watch Latrell Mitchell’s classy post-match speech in the player above
It is one of only a handful of times Mitchell has spoken in the past two years, as he put himself on a ‘self-imposed’ media ban since 2024, refusing to speak to reporters or in post-match press conferences.
The Bunnies star landed himself in hot water with the NRL after an expletive-filled interview to Triple M post-game in early 2024, and since then, he has declined to give interviews.
That is despite the fact that his stance is in controvention of NRL rules. The rules state that clubs must ensure that all players are made available to the media once every three weeks.
Despite that, Mitchell has been able to avoid doing so for the best part of 18 months,
However, after delivering a classy interview upon receiving the Spirit of Anzac Medal, the message from the NRL world was clear: we want to hear more of what Latrell Mitchell has to say.
“He is a natural in front of the microphone. Latrell Mitchell is a star,” Yvonne Sampson said on the Kayo broadcast straight after his speech.
AAP’s Scott Bailey took to X to write: “One of the great shames of Latrell Mitchell’s self-imposed media bans is that he actually has one of the best and most powerful voices in the game when he does speak.”
“His speech after the game was actually really nice,” Sally Gearing added.
While another commented, “That was the best speech I’ve heard”.
However, as things stand, Mitchell’s speech was nothing more than a one-off and only due to the fact that he received a medal.
Mitchell had grown frustrated with how his words had previously been taken out of context and decided to stop talking to the media so he could fully focus on his footy.
Souths continue to support his self-imposed media ban, and the NRL hasn’t put its foot down and forced him to front up.
Yet calls are growing for the NRL to step in and for Mitchell to again be made available to the media.
The Souths star is one of the game’s most marketable players, and given that the media is a gateway between players and fans, his self-imposed ban has denied the NRL faithful from hearing from one of the biggest stars in the game.
There is a growing frustration that there is one rule for Mitchell and another for the rest, with NRL great Josh Morris criticising him last week over his stance.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous. In an age where we have social media and more access than ever to the players, record viewership and all that,” Morris said on 2GB.
“It’s part of your contract that you have to speak to the media. I don’t know how he gets away with it.
“It’s almost like saying ‘I’m bigger than the game’. I don’t understand it. Even a press conference or interview once a month. But 18 months, that’s taking the mickey.”
But for now, Latrell is letting his football on the field do the talking, with the Souths star scoring 10 tries in just 7 games.
He has been near-unstoppable this season, racking up 16 Dally M votes, putting him 7th overall, with Warriors forward Jackson Ford leading the way with a whopping 31.
