An emotional Latrell Mitchell declared he may “retire happy” after profitable the Rugby League World Cup with Australia and opened up on how “surreal” he felt.
The Kangaroos received their twelfth World Cup after outclassing Samoa 30-10 at Old Trafford on Sunday morning AEDT.
Mitchell starred within the win, scoring a double, getting seven sort out busts, an offload, two linebreaks and a linebreak help in addition to operating 93 metres.
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While talking to reporters following the win, the 25-year-old took a second to collect his ideas earlier than explaining why the victory means a lot to him.
“Speechless,” Mitchell stated when requested 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.
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“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 truth that the Rabbitohs star practically skipped the World Cup to spend some high 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 stated.
“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.”
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And he received to raise the trophy at one of the crucial iconic stadium’s on this planet — one thing he considers the “No.1” second of his profession.
“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 stated about enjoying 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 temper to destroy his opponents from the opening minutes of the conflict 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 stated.
“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.”
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It was a dominant World Cup marketing campaign by the Kangaroos, who sat fourth within the worldwide rankings heading into the event.
Mitchell believes they despatched an announcement to the remainder of the groups 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.”
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He additionally welcomes extra worldwide footy, saying he “100 per cent” needs to play different nations extra — however added that “England’s got to come to us” subsequent time.
It was an essential victory for coach Mal Meninga too. There’s been questions over whether or not he would — or ought to — maintain his job if the Kangaroos had been to lose to Samoa.
But Mitchell rubbished the issues 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 manner with the staff and the way he prioritises household life is “why he’s up there with Wayne Bennett as the greatest coaches of all time.”