Infotainment Factory: The 'humbling' trait that sets Latrell apart

What may have been lost in the chaos at the back end of Souths' win over Newcastle was it's clear that not only does Latrell Mitchell have his teammate's backs, but that the squad looks completely different with him returning.

"To have Latrell back and just his aura and his confidence that he brings to the squad. It's so good to have him back especially as he's worked his arse off over the last 12 weeks to get his body right," Rabbitohs forward Jai Arrow told Wide World of Sports.

"He's the fittest I've seen him in my time at the club, and when Latrell's putting in the hard work and playing the way he is, it's so satisfying."

Five-eighth Cody Walker looked like a different player, having his best game of the season, while several other key men stood up and were counted despite the number of players unavailable through either State of Origin selection or injury.

But what is it that makes Mitchell such a great teammate?

"It's his confidence, his willingness to work out and how approachable he is," Arrow said.

"There's a lot of scrutiny that comes with Latrell in the media, as everyone sees, but I don't think everyone realises how good of a guy, and how out of his way he goes for the community - and the work he does with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

"He goes to the moon and back to try and make himself a better person, and to try and put smiles on people's faces."

Mitchell has been back in the team for two games, after missing almost half the season with a hamstring issue. The Rabbitohs have won both, and scored 70 points in the process.

"The younger boys sort of look up to him and want to follow in his direction - and the scary thing is he's only 25-year-old, he's got the world at his feet," Arrow said.

"I don't think people understand how good of a bloke he is, and he's so good to have around the club not only as a player, but as a person.

"He's got two beautiful children himself and he's just humbling to be around - he's such a good fella."

Souths went into the clash with Newcastle without Arrow, as well as Cameron Murray, Damien Cook, Alex Johnston, Campbell Graham, Hame Sele, Jacob Host, Mark Nicholls, and Liam Knight, and lost halfback Lachlan Ilias in the first minute to concussion.

"It's very rewarding to watch games like the other night, with the players we had out," Arrow said.

It's not just the Latrell effect, though - plenty of fringe first graders stepped up massively in that win over Newcastle, particularly in the forwards - Arrow singling out one man for particular praise.

"I just want to give a shoutout to one of my mates, Jed Cartwright - he's battled through injuries for a fair while in the last couple of years," he said.

Cartwright played for Souths in their preliminary final defeat to Penrith in 2020, but has struggled for game time since, mainly due to injuries.

"And they weren't minor injuries with his back, either, he had to go off and have surgery - and to see him play 80 minutes back in the NRL and put on the performance he did, it's a credit to him for sticking to what he knows and rehabbing his back right."

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The Rabbitohs have undergone substantial changes even since the start of the season, with Kodi Nikorima joining in a mid-year switch, while also bringing back Daniel Suluka-Fifita from the Roosters last week.

The latter was particularly eyebrow-raising for Rabbitohs fans, as many remember him as the man who was sin binned for a cheap shot on Arrow in their clash in early 2021.

"I watched him play the other night; I thought he was good and strong off the bench, he brings that punch and that aggressive sort of attitude in games, and that's what I love," Arrow said.

He quickly laughed off his choice of words, unintentionally referencing the incident when the then-Roosters forward punched a prone Arrow in the back of the head as he lay on the ground.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he chuckled.

Arrow messaged Suluka-Fifita on social media to welcome him to the club, and says what happened in 2021 is water under the bridge.

"I said I was looking forward to playing with him - I'm glad we've got him at the club, he's on my team now. There's no bad blood, what happened in the past and on the field stays on the field, and I've never been one to hold a grudge."

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