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An emotional Kangaroos centre Latrell Mitchell declared the job is not done after Australia’s 16-14 win over New Zealand left them 80 minutes from World Cup glory.
Mitchell has made no secret of his homesickness, but remains hellbent on lifting the World Cup trophy before returning to his family in Australia.
“Yeah I don’t know it is something that is pretty hard to put into words,” Mitchell said while getting choked up.
“We put a lot of effort and sacrifice to come over here.
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“We left our families six weeks ago to achieve something and a collective goal and we are one step away from achieving that.
“I think we have to be proud of the efforts we put in tonight and the last couple of weeks to build towards something special.
“For me it is something I need to tick off and I didn’t come over the other side of the world to not do it.
“That’s how I’m feeling. The job is not done.”
Mitchell allowed himself to dream of getting over the final hurdle in Manchester next week, but first and foremost believes Australia deserve to celebrate a huge win over their trans-Tasman rivals.
“If you didn’t dream you wouldn’t be able to achieve,” Mitchell said.
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“I’ve dreamt a lot of things and I’ve achieved them, so one thing is to lift the trophy, but first it is about celebrating tonight and focus on tonight and then move on.”
Mitchell paid tribute to New Zealand and believes it took the Kangaroos’ best defensive performance to hold off the Kiwis in a thriller.
“They bring it,” Mitchell said.
“They are very cultural in every way and we are just as passionate as well.
“I love the boys and the bond you create over the last five weeks is unbreakable and you can see it there in that line of defence.
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“We will go a long way to winning games if we keep defending like that.”
Mitchell revealed all of the players were out on their feet after an epic 80 minutes at Ellan Road.
“You could see everyone was gassed,” Mitchell said.
“It was just grind and grind and there was no real footy being played. It was who was going to hold the ball longer and defend longer and we came out on top.”
Mitchell paid tribute to Rabbitohs’ teammate Cameron Murray for coming up with the clutch try that broke the Kiwis’ hearts.
“Very important and that’s the impact we need coming off the bench,” Mitchell said.
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“When the big boys are working hard and he is an awkward body and he is an awkward mover and I love it.
“I’m so happy that it was him that scored the try.”
Mitchell didn’t have one of his best games, but still came up with some crucial catches under pressure, most notably New Zealand’s final bomb of the game in the 80th minute.
“I don’t think I would get a job in the AFL at the moment, but Jahrome Hughes scored and I sort of took it upon myself,” Mitchell said.
“They were picking on Munster a bit and I had to go up and take some speccies.”
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