The 298 reasons why Latrell snubbed Broncos for Chooks
by
Christian Nicolussi
24 August 2018 — 8:00pm
There were 298 good reasons why Latrell Mitchell snubbed the Brisbane Broncos for fellow NRL heavyweights the Sydney Roosters.
When Mitchell was just 16, high school teacher Brendan Barlow, who was doing some recruitment work for the Broncos, caught a plane from the Queensland capital to Port Macquarie, then hired a car for the short drive south to Taree.
The Broncos were not going to cut corners.
They invited Mitchell and his two brothers, along with parents Matt and Trish Goolagong, to a game at Suncorp Stadium against St George Illawarra. Afterwards, a starry-eyed Mitchell met the likes of Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges.
To ramp up their sales pitch, the Broncos introduced Mitchell to indigenous elder, Uncle Adrian Coolwell.
Coolwell was the man who took in Greg Inglis when he was the same age as Mitchell and had also moved from the nearby NSW mid-north coast town of Kempsey.
A chance to attend the same school as Inglis, Wavell High, was also on the table.
Mitchell's physique, giant fend and position meant he was often compared to a young GI when he burst on to the scene.
"I went up there and had a look, and it felt like home," Mitchell told Fairfax Media ahead of Saturday night's clash against the Broncos at Allianz Stadium.
"I met one of the uncles who looked after GI back in the day. I was so grateful to meet a person like that who was in GI's life. He was very genuine and wanted to help people.
"But in the end if it was just too far from Taree.''
The trek up the Pacific Highway to Red Hill was 614km, compared to the 316km down to Moore Park. Mitchell also had family in Sydney. Those extra 298km made the difference.
Mitchell's father, Matt Goolagong, said of the Broncos interest: "They were very family-orientated club. The Broncos were fantastic actually.
"Brendan Barlow was an absolute gentleman, and to come all that way to Taree, that was commitment. We were very close to sending him there.
"But one of the main reasons Latrell chose the Roosters was because it was closer to home. We're close with our boys.''
Brisbane rarely miss out on their prized targets – but neither does Roosters supremo Nick Politis.
Mitchell trialled with Newcastle's Harold Matthews side earlier that year and never got a look-in.
"I thought he had a blinder that day, but they reckon he was too lazy,'' Matt said.
"Us Indigenous footballers, we're just laid back. We get better with age."
Latrell also recalled trying his luck at the Bulldogs, only to also return home with nothing.
Mitchell, now 21, has backed a winner with his move to the Roosters. He had huge expectations on him at the start of the season, and he has delivered with interest.
Not only was he dynamite for NSW in their drought-breaking Origin series victory, he's also in line for a Kangaroos jersey.
"You can always dream about playing for your country,'' Mitchell said.
"Some people get to do it straight away, some people wait a long time. I'm just waiting for my time.
"I've put in a lot of hard work and it's paying off. The confidence I took out of the rep series, I'm keen to keep playing some good footy.''
While the Broncos missed out on Mitchell all those years ago, they have a handy centre on the books right now in James Roberts.
Latrell's father knows Roberts' father, whose family are scattered around the Kempsey area.
"It's awesome to see two young Koori boys running around against each other,'' said Matt, who made the journey from Taree yesterday and will back up to watch Latrell's older brother, Shaquai, play for Wyong on Sunday.
"Latrell and James know each other well off the field, but us Indigenous boys, we like to play harder against each other and always try to get one up on each other.
"They were pretty even in the first round up there [at Suncorp]. Latrell had him in the first half, then Jimmy had him in the second half.''
The last time Mitchell lined up against Brisbane at Allianz Stadium, he scored one of the great individual powerhouse tries to to break their hearts in week one of the finals last year.
