But his insistence on calling out racism and emerging as the game’s unofficial poster boy for Indigenous affairs is what Mitchell is proudest of. "People wanted to get a bite out of me - and they did," said Mitchell, as he sat back in the foyer of Auckland's swanky SO Hotel on Friday. "I'm proud of who I am and I'm one of the first people to stand up for it. We've always sat back and looked from afar, but I can't do it any more. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video "You can hide behind a keyboard and say stuff, but I don't know how you live with yourself by saying stuff like that. I don't go out of my way to belittle someone. I think it's pathetic."

Mitchell re-posted vile abuse directed at him one Sunday evening after the Roosters travelled to Canberra. He has named and shamed culprits ever since. After a conversation with his father, Matt, and Roosters coach Trent Robinson, he hopped off social media for most of September so he could preserve some of his emotional energy. Origin isn't everything. It isn't. This [the Kangaroos] is the pinnacle for me. Latrell Mitchell Mitchell caused a stir when he joined the Indigenous players' boycott of the national anthem. As he puts it, "I don't tell the other boys not to sing it. If you're going to sing it, sing it proudly - but it doesn't represent me." He would also have loved to see an Indigenous All Stars team at the World Cup 9s.

"I don't think it is [reverse racism], if Australia plays an Indigenous side. That's something people want to see. It would be awesome for us, as a people, to have our own team," he said. Asked to sum up his year, Mitchell said: "It was good. That period between rep football, I could have kicked stones and said this and that, but I didn't - I wanted to play footy and get on with my life. "Origin isn't everything. It isn't. This [the Kangaroos] is the pinnacle for me. I love playing in this jersey. I'm really passionate about being an Australian and being in this jersey." Mitchell politely requested that the topics of his contract and NSW axing be avoided. But he revealed the Origin snub had nothing to do with attitude. "People can say 'attitude'. It wasn't. I was going through a lot," he said.

"Maybe I can put it down to that. If you’re not happy off-field you’re not going to perform on-field." Mitchell said the immediate challenge was staying in games. "I know I go in and out of games," Mitchell said. "You play that one game [against the Tigers] and people think you can play like that every game. It’s a mental thing. I haven’t reached my full mental capacity with rugby league. I’m only young. I'm 22. People think I’m 30 or 35 and have done this and that. "I haven’t hit my potential. Not by a long shot. It’s knowing what I need to do with myself and prepare the way I did for the Tigers game and doing that every week. That’s what I’ve got to find.

"I know where I’m at and where I can get to. It’s pretty scary." Where Mitchell plays in 2021 will be a hot topic. This week, he reportedly met with the Bulldogs at an official's house. But he is in no rush. "It’s very flattering for teams to go out of their way to be like, ‘I want Latrell Mitchell as a marquee player’," he said. Loading "I was just a kid from Taree doing nothing. For people to want you is a good feeling. I will make a decision when it’s the right one for me and my family.