‘He hasn’t got into our heads’: Ben Hunt slams suggestions the Maroons are rattled by Latrell Mitchell’s inclusion

Maroons veteran Ben Hunt has hosed down suggestions recalled Blues centre Latrell Mitchell will be the difference for NSW in game 2, with the Dragons star also hopeful of sorting out his future once the State of Origin series is over.

Mitchell replaces the suspended Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at left centre for the must-win match in Melbourne, with the South Sydney star preparing to play his first Origin game since the 2021 series when he carved up Queensland with four tries.

The larger-than-life character was unstoppable at times that series, but injuries have held him back since then, with Blues fans hoping he can recapture that form on Wednesday night.

Valentine Holmes will have the unenviable task of trying to contain him, but Hunt hit back at fears that Mitchell’s inclusion would sway the series.

“He hasn’t got into our heads at all,” he said.

“We have done preparation on him, like you would on any good player.

“There’s a lot of guys in that team who are going to hurt us as well, so we can’t just go into a State of Origin match completely worried about one player.

“He is a huge threat. We know what Latrell is capable of and what he has done in the Origin arena.

“We will have our hands pretty full trying to hang onto him, so we need to be very disciplined in the way we defend him.

“We have to defend him as a team because if we give him any bit of room he is going to hurt us. We need to defend really well.”

Meanwhile, Hunt is closing in on an extension at the Dragons just a year after he asked for a release to return to Queensland.

The gifted playmaker has been with the Red V since 2018 and still has another year to run on his current deal, with Hunt pushing for an additional 12 months given the improvements he’s seen on and off the field under coach Shane Flanagan.

The decision to sign dummy-half Damien Cook from the Rabbitohs last week is a big move for the Dragons who also extended Jaydn Su’A’s deal.

“At this stage there is nothing really in place, but I have talked to ‘Flanno’ and we are just waiting to get through Origin and sit down and have a chat about it,“ Hunt said.

“All things are going well. I am really excited that Jaydn is extended with the club and we have got ‘Cookie’ coming on-board.”