Tristan Sailor takes aim at Latrell Mitchell as Brisbane Broncos look for NRL redemption

Broncos fullback Tristan Sailor is excited by the challenge to go toe-to-toe with in-form Souths star Latrell Mitchell this weekend as he looks to put a poor performance against Cronulla behind him. Sailor made three errors in Saturday's 22-12 NRL loss to the Sharks, with one dropped bomb leading directly to a try.

The 25-year-old continues to fill in for boom fullback Reece Walsh but as he looks to establish himself as an NRL regular knows that he can't be making those sorts of unforced errors. "I was very angry at myself because it was unforced and I usually pride myself on not doing that," Sailor said.

"I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but all I can do now is spend the week working on that and getting back to my way of footy and being confident. I love taking opportunities and feel like this (Souths clash) is a good opportunity to do that against some great opposition."

The Broncos will get a chance to bounce back into the win column this weekend against the surging Bunnies, who come into Friday night's encounter on the back of their best win of the year - a 46-12 demolition job of the Gold Coast Titans. Sailor knows Friday night is a danger game for the NRL contenders but he is relishing the chance to do his part and come out on top in the fullback battle against Mitchell, who is looking to put in a strong performance in his bid for a Blues recall.

"I think he's very motivated to get that NSW jersey and with his form over the past couple of weeks, you see how Souths lift off the back of him," Sailor said. "We expect him to be in red-hot form again so we're preparing as best we can for him. All we can do is stay in our systems and do all the right things individually and we should be able to stop them."

The eighth-placed Broncos have lost their mojo somewhat of late and Sailor says a well-deserved spray from coach Kevin Walters has the team chomping at the bit to get back out on the park. "Kev was really disappointed we didn't nail our individual roles (against the Sharks) and that's what we need to get back to," Sailor said. "When everyone is doing their role, the Broncos are a very dangerous team."

Latrell Mitchell makes strong case for Blues recall

Mitchell was back to his devastating best last weekend against Gold Coast and had a hand in just about everything good that the Rabbitohs did. The Souths No.1 scored the first try and played a key role in three others, while also making four tackle busts in a brutal display of attacking force.

But almost more notably his defence was as good if not better than his attack. The 26-year-old made a pair of try-saving tackles when the game was on the line. And the performance was sure to get the attention of Blues coach Michael Maguire who is looking for a new centre after Joseph Suaalii's four-game ban for a high shot on Maroons fullback Reece Walsh in Game I.

Calls have been growing louder for Mitchell to be recalled to the Blues side and the consensus is the NSW coach would be nuts to not pick Mitchell. Veteran NRL reporter Paul Crawley says it's "ridiculous" to question whether Latrell Mitchell is playing well enough to earn himself a State of Origin recall.

"Name another contender to replace Joseph Suaalii who made a bigger impact over the round," Crawley wrote for Fox Sports. "If you are being fair dinkum Mitchell smashed the argument out of the park in the thumping 46-12 win over the Titans, where he was the best player on the field by a country mile. I had to laugh when I then read a story after the game that Blues officials still want to know if Mitchell is fully committed before his selection will be given serious thought.

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"Someone needs to remind those officials the Blues lost game one 38-10 and are coming off back-to-back series defeats. If they don’t pick Mitchell you can guarantee Billy Slater won’t be complaining, and neither will Val Holmes who would have to mark up against Latrell."

with AAP