Best in show: Latrell eyes Easter prize

Before making his NRL debut, Latrell Mitchell had a goal to raise award winning cattle and this weekend the Rabbitohs superstar will achieve dual milestones as he plays his 150th game and enters his prized cows at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Mitchell, who owns a farm in Taree, will present prized heifers Talkin’ Dirty and Quartz for judging on Sunday – less than 48 hours after South Sydney meet Canterbury in their annual Good Friday clash at nearby Accor Stadium.

“I’ve always had this goal. Me and my mate have talked about it for a long time, and even before I started playing footy,” Mitchell said.

“It’s taken 10 to 15 years, but we’re here. We’ve got two heifers, nine to 14 months old, so hopefully they get junior champs and you see me walking around on Sunday.”

Before then, he is aiming to become more involved on the field as Souths seek to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Melbourne and improve on a 2-3 start to the season.

Mitchell had 21 runs with the ball against the Storm but many of those were kick returns from near his own line.

“We had a conversation as leaders this morning and we know what we need to work on at training this week,” the star fullback said.

“I think that instead of chasing our tails we should be starting earlier. For me personally I know that I need to get my hands on the ball a bit earlier and flip the mentality, but it is Round 5 and we don’t need to panic.

“It is an individual thing. I think I need to make more of an impact on the team and take a carry or two.”

As one of the biggest names in the game, Mitchell’s performances are heavily scrutinised, and he suggested many people forget how young he is.

The 25-year-old has won two premierships with Sydney Roosters, helped NSW to State of Origin series triumphs and starred for the Kangaroos at last year’s World Cup.

However, Mitchell expects to achieve many bigger milestones after playing 150 NRL matches in his first eight seasons.

“I never thought I would play one game as a kid from Taree, but to play 150 is definitely very special to me and my family,” he said.

“Everyone thinks I’m 35, at the end of my career and meant to know everything. I’m only 25, I’m still learning. That’s the beauty of our game, we get to enjoy it every week and we take our learnings.

I don’t take them as losses, I take them as lessons.

Mitchell prides himself on being an Indigenous role model and he began his media conference at Redfern with a Welcome to Country before paying tribute to land rights pioneer Yunupingu, who passed away aged 74.

“I turn up every day to be my best,” he said. “I think my actions speak for a lot of those things and my off-field actions as well. I try to present myself the best I can for those kids and to be a great role model.

“It is something that happens naturally, I don’t try to force it on everyone. I just try to be me, and be the country kid I once was.”