State of Origin 2024: Latrell Mitchell and Daly Cherry-Evans caught in ‘classless’ scenes

There were some bizarre scenes following Original state 2 on Wednesday, when Latrell Mitchell and Daly Cherry-Evans were both booed by fans at the MCG as they conducted post-match interviews. NSW blew Queensland out of the park in the first half, running out 38-18 winners to send the series to a decider at Suncorp Stadium.

Mitchell had a brilliant match in his return to the Home State arena for the first time since 2021, scoring a try, assisting another and making huge defensive plays. But there were ugly scenes after the full-time siren when Mitchell was noticeably booed and jeered by fans at the MCG as he spoke to Channel 9.

THE A South Sydney player was booed by opposing spectators on several occasions in recent seasons, and is still a cause of division among fans. Wednesday night’s match was played on neutral territory in Melbourne, but there was distinct support for Queensland due to the number of Storm players playing for the Maroons.

Given the number of fans in attendance for Queensland, it wasn’t all that surprising that Mitchell received a few boos after the match. But in bizarre scenes, Maroons captain Cherry-Evans was also booed when he conducted an interview moments later.

Mitchell appeared surprised by the crowd’s reaction and didn’t seem to take it too well, sarcastically telling Paul Gallen “how good is that?” Viewers watching at home went wild on social media over the unsavoury scenes.

“Why are people booing Latrell after the match? “, one person wrote. “It lacks a bit of class. The game must respect the game. He was brilliant tonight. »

Another commented: “These Victorians look a bit confused. They boo Latrell Mitchell and Daly Cherry-Evans after the match. »

Latrell Mitchell pays tribute to his teammates after Origin victory

Mitchell showed his class by praising his teammates in his post-match comments. “We have dedicated ourselves to defending and demonstrating the ‘Blue Wall,'” he said.

“You know what, honestly, I’m not talking about myself. It’s about the people who came today, everyone here in the blue jerseys, the blue shirts, our families who showed up, NSW who showed up, mate. This is neutral ground to arrive at. We have a job to do.

“I’m optimistic, buddy, I tell you what. Keep showing up, keep working on what we were trying to work on there. We have a few weeks left to prepare for it.

NSW coach Michael Maguire was delighted for Mitchell after picking him for Game 2 despite initially overlooking him for the series opener. “When you have the caliber of players around someone like Latrell, it allows him to do what he needs to do,” he said.

“Rather than targeting just one player… Latrell is a great player and we all know that. Where he’s at right now and how he’s playing his football, it’s great when everyone plays their part, it allows Latrell to shine and do all the things we admire.

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“It was good to see the leaders come out and control the game,” Maguire said. “What you saw in the first half is what I think this group is capable of. We need to replicate that. Mitch came in and did what I thought he was capable of doing, he was strong with the the way he wanted to play the game.”