A top-four finish is not beyond them with the Cowboys and Sydney Roosters – at what will be a packed brand-new Allianz Stadium in the final round – to complete the run home to September.
Seeing Mitchell in full flight is one of the coolest things to watch every week, and his warning to rivals after full-time at CommBank Stadium was celebrated by Souths.
Cody Walker and Damien Cook celebrate a try.Credit:NRL Photos
While most NRL coaches dread their players saying anything remotely controversial that might fire up their opposition, Demetriou welcomed his No.1’s fighting words.
“We want players to be themselves, and what I’m loving about Latrell is he’s living that mindset at every training session and with every performance on the field – and his teammates are living it as well,” Demetriou said.
“I’m not big on motivating other teams with what we say through the press.
“But at the same time, there’s an expectation that when you do make a comment, you back it up, and that’s the headspace Latrell is in at the moment.
“I think it’s all to do with the leadership position he’s in. He enjoys standing in front of the boys and saying, ‘Let’s go, we’ve got this’.
“When you grab blokes after a good win they can get excited during an interview. But you want them excited, you want them enjoying their footy and being excited about the next challenge.
“We’re under no illusions how tough the next six to eight weeks will be. I still think there’s more in Latrell, and that’s exciting.”
Souths look to be a happy club with a tight playing group, and Demetriou said that genuine bond off the field was transferring to their on-field efforts.
Demetriou also dismissed any concerns the Bunnies had started their run too early, claiming they could remain physically and mentally fresh heading into the finals.
Mitchell is the X-factor with Parramatta prop Junior Paulo in awe of the powerhouse fullback when he gets in a mood.
“He’s one of those players where things just seem to happen around him,” Paulo said.
“When the middles get them on the front foot, it’s easy for Latrell to do what he does. He’s hard to stop.”
‘Embarrassed’ Eel commits to Samoa
Parramatta prop Junior Paulo said the way the Eels were dominated in the middle from the opening whistle was “embarrassing”, and what made things worse was the pack focused all week on not being outmuscled by the Rabbitohs.
Eels coach Brad Arthur slammed his players for a “lacking physicality” after the Friday’s loss.
“And if you’re not going to be physical, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’re not going to give yourself a chance,” Arthur said. “We lacked it, badly … we got steamrolled.”
Parramatta prop Junior Paulo was kept quiet against Souths.Credit:Getty Images
Paulo, who ran for a season-low 60m, told The Sun-Herald: “We were even challenged throughout the week to win the battle in the middle, so what we ended up showing was way below our standards. It was actually embarrassing, to be honest.
“We were not physical enough and didn’t chase the collision. Brad was right in everything he said after the game.
“We want to challenge ourselves week in, week out. When it comes to Souths, we haven’t done that for three or four years now. We haven’t shown our best version of ourselves against them, and our best version is when we’re physical.
“We need to bounce back against the Dogs who are another club who embarrassed us the last time we played them as well.”
Mitchell Moses is an outside chance to return from a broken finger against Canterbury next Saturday, but even the No.7 has again drifted in and out of games all year.
Before Friday’s kick-off Paulo made it known he would commit to Samoa ahead of Australia for the World Cup, largely because he wanted to honor his grandparents and parents for leaving the tiny Pacific nation to give him a better life.
Paulo also knows Samoa never got the best out of him at the last World Cup when he and then Canberra teammates Josh Papalii and BJ Leilua returned to pre-season training a combined 30kg heavier.
“I want to pay my family back and repay Samoa for having the belief in me and knowing the impact we can have on a game if we all gel,” Paulo said.
Paulo hoped Joseph Suaalii would commit to the minnows, especially with the chance to wear the No.1 jersey, a positional wish he would not be granted should he side with the Kangaroos.
Stream the NRL Premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.