NRL world goes bonkers over Latrell Mitchell act: 'That is scary'

Latrell Mitchell is the talk of the NRL after putting on another masterclass to inspire a thrilling victory for the Rabbitohs over the Bulldogs.

Mitchell gave NSW a reminder of what they missed in the State of Origin decider, with a match-defining display in his side's thrilling 36-28 win over Canterbury on Sunday.

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The Bunnies fullback opted against featuring in the Origin decider after returning from a lengthy lay-off which involved him heading to the United States for a specialised rehabilitation program on his hamstring.

Souths coach Jason Demetriou said it was money well spent, and it was hard to argue given Mitchell turned the game with a solo try and set up three more as the Rabbitohs strengthened their grip on seventh spot.

With the Bulldogs well and truly in the contest and the game on the line with 20 minutes to go, Mitchell found another gear to lift the Rabbitohs and send a statement to the rest of the competition.

“That is scary. That is intimidating,” NRL great Cooper Cronk said on Fox Sports.

“He went away for 12 weeks, got his body right and his mind right. I’ve played with and against Latrell and I’ve never seen him so committed, so dialled in.

“He literally wants to throw South Sydney on his back and it’s a scary sign for the rest of the competition because that and what he’s done the last two weeks, that makes South Sydney scary towards the back end of this season.

“You talk about Tom Trbojevic... he’s arguably been the best player on the field in these three games back. In terms of what South Sydney can do in the finals, absolutely he can have an impact.”

With a quarter of the game remaining, Mitchell's try proved a big turning point as he burst onto a Kodi Nikorima offload from 40 metres out and breezed past three Bulldogs defenders to score.

Paul Vaughan crashed over to put Canterbury 28-22 up with 10 minutes left on clock but from there the Bunnies flicked a switch to wrap up the win.

Mitchell sent Tevita Tatola and Alex Johnston over to score, before the Bunnies winger added his third.

Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou praised Mitchell's contribution after the match, particularly given his side were missing a number of their rep stars.

Latrell Mitchell show leaves onlookers in awe

“We needed him to (step up),” Rabbitohs coach Demetriou said.

“With no (Cameron Murray) and (Damien Cook), we needed Latrell and Cody (Walker) to stand up when we were behind.

“(Mitchell) was the bloke pushing through that middle third, they both come up with some pretty big plays there to set the tries up.

“Again, that’s what you want from your leaders.

“I spoke to them through the week that there’s times when in a season those guys need to stand up, they’ve been doing that over the past month.

“And if they keep doing that, we’ll be in a good place come finals.”

Mitchell's performance left fans singing his praises on social media after the game, with many describing him as the most influential player in the game.

with AAP

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