Latrell Mitchell says he was ‘rattled’ by Sam Burgess saga

Shortly after his move to Warrington Wolves was announced, Sam Burgess was let go by South Sydney Rabbitohs despite having the rest of the season to serve as Assistant Coach.

This came reportedly because of comments he made about Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker suggesting that they received preferential treatment.

This ultimately meant that Burgess left under a cloud and now Latrell Mitchell has spoken out about the sacking of Burgess and the impact he had on him.

“Everything that went on, you say it didn’t affect you as a person,” Mitchell told the Let’s Trot podcast when asked about Burgess’s departure.

“It rattled me, I tell you what,” Mitchell said, “But it is what it is. I’m over it now. It starts to drip into your personal life and footy. If you’re not happy off the field, you’re never going to perform on it.

“A lot of that trickled into all of our lives and everything that went on just happened. True colours come out when pressure’s applied. They’re not losses, they’re lessons and I’ll take them into 2024.”

This isn’t the only controversy Mitchell has been involved in. In fact his move to Souths was widely seen as controversial and he spoke on that as well.

“I just let them know what they’re missing out on and what they let go in a way,” Mitchell said.

“I just love playing opposition [when] it’s someone that meant a lot to me. The Roosters meant a lot to me at the time and I felt like I gave a lot to that club.

“Just leaving that club on terms I didn’t want to leave on, but at the end of the day, it was for the better, I’m at home now at Souths … coming to Souths now I’ve been able to be myself, not have to prove to anyone who I am and what I stand for. I get backed from CEO down, from [co-owner] Russell [Crowe] down.

“Everything they’ve sacrificed for me and given to me, and I haven’t delivered since I’ve been there in a sense, [winning] a comp is something that everyone wants. To write my name in the books and maybe [win] a Clive Churchill along with that.”