Latrell Mitchell has always been compared to Greg Inglis during his short but esteemed career so far – and that is the very reason, he says, why he will never play for South Sydney.
In the same week Mitchell joined the NSW Blues camp and whispers emerged he had already agreed to a two-year extension with the Sydney Roosters for around $800,000 a year, the gun centre for the first time gave an insight into why he hasn't seriously entertained persistent links with the Rabbitohs.
"I have always thought about [the move] with GI moving out, but then again, I've been hyped up after 'GI' for most of my career now, and I think if I move there I'd be more of a shadow," Mitchell said. "I am a person that wants to make my own name.
"I know me and GI have the same attributes on the field. Then again, I want to try and be better than Greg. I know he would have tried to be better than his idol. And I know for a fact he would want me to be better than him. That is the way it goes.
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"I want to be myself, be my own man and play my own game. They have a big [Indigenous] fan base. My old boy came down to Souths to have a crack. He got homesick and went home. He has always been a Souths supporter and has always rubbed it in. I don’t know how to explain it."
Like everybody else in the game, Mitchell wanted Inglis to "finish off on a high" before his recent retirement but now wishes him only the best. "I just hope he's doing well off the field," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's future beyond 2020 at the Sydney Roosters has been a huge storyline for most of the season, and after Inglis's shock retirement the young pin-up was heavily linked with a move across to the other side of Anzac Parade.
Even the most rusted-on Souths fan, however, would now understand Mitchell's reluctance to pull on the cardinal and myrtle. The past few months became stressful for Mitchell as he went through a messy split with long-time manager Steve Deacon and linked with new agent Wayde Rushton.
"You can’t put all your trust in one bucket with someone. All that stuff is in the past," he said.
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When the Roosters extension is posed to him, Mitchell did not appear surprised, giving the look of a man who has heard every story linking him at some stage to all 15 rival clubs.
"That's the first time I'm hearing this. How much was it?" Mitchell asked.
When told around $800,000 a year, Mitchell smiled and said: "I would love to see that. I am still under contract with the Roosters until next year. Whatever happens, happens. I will leave it all aside. I don’t need to worry about it."
The only concern for Mitchell right now is winning another series for the Blues. He would have loved the chance to play alongside Luke Keary in what shaped as an all-Roosters left edge with Boyd Cordner and James Tedesco sweeping across the back.
Mitchell was just as excited to link up with good mate and new NSW No.6 Cody Walker, the debutant he's also had the privilege of playing under with the Indigenous All Stars at the start of the year.
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Replay
Queensland have their own superstar 21-year-old in Kalyn Ponga but Maroons fans will be fearing what Mitchell is capable of for the Blues.
If they need reminding, Queenslanders need only to go back and watch what he did to the Wests Tigers a few Saturday nights back at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Roosters and NSW skipper Cordner has seen first hand how Mitchell has blossomed spectacularly since he first stormed onto the Origin arena last year and the Blues captain is expecting even more from him this time around.
"There are times in the game when he's the only player in the NRL who can do what he does, and I suppose that's why he's so good. He's a game-breaker," Cordner said.