Will Latrell Mitchell hold his NSW Blues centre position?

South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Latrell Mitchell has returned to elite form in recent weeks, which we witnessed in his Sydney Roosters days.

It has been the catalyst for a resurgence from the Bunnies, winning four out of their last five games against the Tigers, Bulldogs, Dragons and Storm.

Many spectators were divided when Wayne Bennett moved Mitchell permanently to the left centre position to accommodate Jye Gray into his side.

However, since then, the club has been in elite form, and Bennett even kept him in centre when Gray went down with an AC joint injury, allowing Matt Dufty to be granted exemption to play fullback.

It has turned out to be a masterstroke from Bennett, with Dufty running over 300 metres in both of his appearances this year.

Mitchell has had high involvement and has looked as damaging as ever, recording 10 tries for the year and running an average of 128 metres per game.

With State of Origin selection around the corner, many have thrown in their two cents on who should claim one of the centre spots.

Given that Stephen Crichton has the right side locked down, there are plenty of candidates.

It includes Mitchell, Kotoni Staggs, Tolutau Koula and Casey McLean.

QLD debutant Robert Toia was able to lock down Mitchell and limited his attacking prowess in last year's campaign.

However, he has simply gone up another notch in 2026, with NRL legend Greg Alexander labelling Mitchell as “best centre in the game” over the likes of Staggs, Crichton and Herbie Farnworth.

It will most definitely see Laurie Daley keep Mitchell in the left centre position for Game 1.

“Latrell is the best centre in the game. Without a doubt. There's no one like him,” Alexander said.

“There's not a centre in the game like him and I think centre is his position. He can touch the ball eight times or ten times and something happens seven out of ten.

“You know his strike rate in terms of touches and producing something is not like any other player in the game.

“Just his level of skill, whether it's running, footwork, the ability to pass, the ability to feed Alex Johnston, it doesn't matter in what circumstance, Latrell is the best centre in the game and we've seen that over the last three weeks.

“In fact he's had a very good start to the season.”

Alexander also noted Cody Walker as a reason for the Rabbitohs' hot patch of form, who has gotten back to his best which saw him in NSW conversations in years gone by.

“So has Cody Walker after a bit of a slow-ish start. Cody's playing footy that Souths need him to play.

“Great ball player, best ball player in the game and we've seen that over recent weeks.”

The Newcastle Knights face the tough task of playing the in-form Rabbitohs this Sunday at McDonald Jones Stadium.