An emotional Latrell Mitchell declared he could “retire happy” after winning the Rugby League World Cup with Australia and opened up on how “surreal” he felt.
The Kangaroos won their 12th World Cup after outclassing Samoa 30-10 at Old Trafford on Sunday morning AEDT.
Mitchell starred in the win, scoring a double, getting seven tackle busts, an offload, two linebreaks and a linebreak assist as well as running 93 metres.
While speaking to reporters following the win, the 25-year-old took a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining why the victory means so much to him.
“Speechless,” Mitchell said when asked to sum up how he was feeling.
“To be honest I actually dreamt about this last night, it sort of woke me up out of my sleep.
“I suppose if you didn’t have dreams you wouldn’t be able to achieve it. I followed mine and the boys set out to do something six or seven weeks ago to bring the trophy home. It’s surreal.
“I’m just a country boy from Taree I suppose.
“My dad always gave me a kick up the a**e at the age of 15 to be able to move out of Taree and achieve something, to be someone. I think I’ve been able to do that.
“Six or seven weeks now I’ve left my two kids, I just want to get back to the farm and see them. It’s all worth it now, I get to hold a trophy, I get to hold a medal, I get to have that jersey hanging up on my wall and look at it 15 years down the track and be really proud of the bunch of blokes I got to call brothers.
“For myself, I could retire happy.”
Making the win even sweeter is the fact that the Rabbitohs star nearly skipped the World Cup to spend some quality time on his farm in Taree.
But he boarded the flight to England to chase down World Cup glory.
“I was sceptical, obviously 2019 I had a fire burning and we lost to Tonga. I cried around for the first week — me and Jack Wighton,” he said.
“But I’m glad I had ‘Foxx’ (Josh Addo-Carr), Jack and the other lads there to help each other through. We all sacrificed family time, (but) it’s all worth it now.”
And he got to lift the trophy at one of the most iconic stadium’s in the world — something he considers the “No.1” moment of his career.
“It was good to come and watch a game of football, you put it into perspective of Cristiano Ronaldo — a well-known athlete, who he is — and then for us to be the main attraction it’s definitely a special moment I’ll hold close to my heart,” Mitchell said about playing at Old Trafford.
“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life, it’s something I’ve always wanted to tick off as a young fella.
“I’ve done a few other things in the game but this was No.1 for me and I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity.”
It was clear that Mitchell was in a mood to destroy his opponents from the opening minutes of the clash and he revealed it was Samoa’s pre-game Sipi Tau that lit a fuse in him.
“They’re a very passionate mob, when they do their war cry it’s something very special and you can feel it,” he said.
“I think Spencer Leniu actually got in my face, which sort of poked the bear a little bit but it switched me on from there.
“From kick-off I knew I was ready for a game and took some tough carries, which I don’t usually do, but all in all very, very emotional — in a good way.”
It was a dominant World Cup campaign by the Kangaroos, who sat fourth in the international rankings heading into the tournament.
Mitchell believes they sent a statement to the rest of the teams declaring: “We’re ranked No.1 now — we should have been all along. We proved why and we’re going to keep proving it the next couple of years.”
He also welcomes more international footy, saying he “100 per cent” wants to play other nations more — but added that “England’s got to come to us” next time.
It was an important victory for coach Mal Meninga too. There’s been questions over whether he would — or should — keep his job if the Kangaroos were to lose to Samoa.
But Mitchell rubbished the concerns over Meninga’s future, saying: “Who’s getting it next? I don’t think anyone can do the job he does.”
Australia’s star centre believes Meninga’s way with the team and how he prioritises family life is “why he’s up there with Wayne Bennett as the greatest coaches of all time.”
