'Heroic' Latrell Mitchell guides Rabbitohs to drought-breaking win over Roosters
A moment of Latrell Mitchell magic – or luck – has handed the Rabbitohs an unlikely drought-breaking win over the Roosters at Accor Stadium.
The Rabbitohs trailed 14-8 with under 20 minutes to play and looked completely out of breath before scoring back-to-back tries to seal a 20-14 win.
In his first NRL match in nine months, Mitchell kicked a dropout that never looked close to reaching the 10 metre line, before a fortuitous bounce took it through the plane.
READ MORE: Hopes fade for Bears return as Perth plans ditched
READ MORE: Lucky cross breaks Tillies' rocky start to the season
READ MORE: Under pressure Aussie 'shaken up' after monster 300km/h crash
It was pounced on by Rabbitohs defenders, who shortly after won a penalty. From the following plays, Jye Gray scored before Mitchell nailed a stunning conversion to level it.
Latrell Mitchell of the Rabbitohs celebrates victory during the round five NRL match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium, on April 04, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images) Getty
Mitchell then threw a stunning long pass to put Isaiah Tass over with 10 to go and put the Bunnies in front, before he again added the extras.
"Latrell Mitchell heroic in his return to the NRL stage," Nine caller Brenton Speed said in commentary at full-time.
Mitchell was playing in the centres on his injury return with Gray retaining his spot at fullback.
It's the first time the Rabbitohs have beaten the Roosters since their infamous 'Sin Bin Sunday' clash in the 2022 elimination final.
"They were gone. The referee had put the standing eight count on them. They weren't coming back," Phil Gould said on Nine at full-time.
"They were kicking out on the full, dropping the ball, not getting back in defence, enter Latrell Mitchell.
"The old coach (Wayne Bennett) and the freak. They might become a deadly combination."
Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Making the win even more extraordinary, the Rabbitohs lost both halves – Jamie Humphreys was ruled out in the opening minutes – as well as Mikaele Ravalawa with hamstring issues.
In the first half, both sides scored in the opening 20 minutes, before the clash descended into madness as the Roosters continued to invite the Rabbitohs into the game, but then somehow kept them out.
The Bunnies dominated just about every metric on the stats sheet – possession, tackles, metres – but couldn't convert it to points. The led into the break up 8-6.
The Roosters dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half. Tries to Billy Smith and Dominic Young looked to have got the Roosters home.
For Smith, it was an emotional moment on his NRL return after 573 days sidelined with injury.
"Billy Smith, good on your son. Slams it down in the corner," Gould said.
Andrew Johns said Smith overhauled his life in a bid to get back - and stay - on the park.
"He changed pretty much everything in his life," Johns explained.
"He went on a pretty radical diet. Anthony Minichiello recommend him all the fasting stuff. No alcohol. He changed the way he trained.
"You'd love to see him have an extended period on the field with no injuries. He's some player."
But once Young scored, the Rabbitohs looked gassed. Mitchell put two kicks out on the full chasing 40-20s before kicking the deciding dropout.
Johnathan Thurston said it was a typical Mitchell performance.
"Latrell still goes after the game. He'd put two kicks out on the full, which puts his team under the pump. But when the game's on the line, who gets the ball in his hands? Latrell," he said.
"They're the big moments that players go after. There's no fear of failure in that moment. You go and attack it. That's what he does, and that's why he's one of the best."
