'Sheriff' back in town: Trell returns to arrest Rabbitohs' slide

The Sheriff is back in town!

Latrell Mitchell, nicknamed “Sheriff” by South Sydney players because of his role in imposing fines for breaching team rules, is set to make his return from injury in a timely boost for the battling Bunnies.

After missing the entire Origin series, Mitchell was back shouting orders behind the Rabbitohs defensive line at training on Monday and his presence had a notable impact on teammates.

“There is no doubt his inclusion will be a big, big boost for us,” hooker Damien Cook said.

“We have been more than confident to get the job done without him but now that he is back it’s going to be like Tom Trbojevic coming back for Manly, Nathan Cleary coming back at Penrith or Payne Haas with Brisbane.

Everyone always gets excited about their No.1 player coming back.

Before suffering a calf injury at NSW training in the lead-up to Origin I, Mitchell was near the top of his game and having an influence on most games in which he played for the Rabbitohs this season.

Yet it is more than just the on-field brilliance of the fullback superstar that Souths have missed in the seven matches he was on the sidelines.

“I believe he is a once in a generation player, as a lot of people would think, his skillset is like no other and his desire and want to win is quite high,” five-eighth Cody Walker said.

“He reads the game so well, he knows his cues and knows where the ball needs to go or where the defenders need to go, so he works all that out and gets our line in order. He is a big part of our team.”

Mitchell was in fine form at training ahead of his comeback against Wests Tigers at Tamworth on Friday night, telling TV camera operators to stop filming because they had enough footage for “Trellavision”.

With a passion for farming, the 26-year-old has taken on the role of team “sheriff” to impose disciplinary sanctions on team-mates who are late for meetings, forget to turn their phones off or fail to clean up in the kitchen.

Queensland Origin enforcer Jai Arrow is nicknamed “The Accountant” because he is the one responsible for collecting the money for the fines handed down by Mitchell.

“Trell is definitely one who will hold people accountable on and off the field,” Cook said.

He’s the sheriff, who collects the debts and the money from boys not following the rules around training.

“He’s the sheriff, who collects the debts and the money from boys not following the rules around training.

Walker said Mitchell knew how to keep the mood light at training while ensuring everyone maintained focus on their role for the team.

 “Everyone's a bit scared of him. He's the bloke that gives all the fines out,” Walker said.

“It's just a bit of fun; sometimes the boys are late to meetings or have phones in the gym, little rules here and there about keeping the place tidy and clean and having those standards around the place that we need.

“The energy is probably higher when he’s late. Because he’s the sheriff and he’s giving them all out, everyone sort of jumps on the bandwagon. It’s good fun. It makes the boys keep the standards around the place.”

In Mitchell’s absence, the Rabbitohs defence has dramatically fallen away as they have conceded more than 30 points in each of their five losses to the Raiders, Dragons, Cowboys, Bulldogs and Broncos.

In comparison, opposition teams were averaging 15.9 points per game against Souths before Mitchell’s injury.

“We know we can score points, we just need to fix up our D and as long as we all do our roles, he will boost that as well,” Cook said.

“He did that today [at training], and even for myself, I know what he is doing in the defensive line, so I know what I have got to do, as well, to do my job for the rest of the team.

“As much as there are connections and combinations in attack, they are also there in defence as well and on our goal line he will boost our defence for sure.

“He doesn’t actually make a lot of tackles there - when he does, he is more than capable because of the big body that he is - but he just thickens up the line and gives everyone a bit more time and space out wide.

“His numbering and his presence on the goal line is really good as well. It’s his organisation.”