Instead of being consoled by his great mate Latrell Mitchell,as after an error-strewn game in last month’s Charity Shield,this time he was being congratulated.
The St George Dragons host the Gold Coast Titans in Round 2 of the 2023 NRL Premiership.
“He just said,‘Good game brother’,” Sloan said. “He’s one of my brothers and I look up to him as a player,but outside the field he means so much more to me. He’s a person I can go to and lean on if I need anything.”
Mitchell spent a week with Indigenous teammate Sloan in the All Stars camp before they went head to head with their respective NRL clubs in the Charity Shield. At full-time,the Souths star consoled his opposing fullback,who was clearly emotional.
Mitchell’s weekend started with an aimed at him,and also included a quick getaway to the family farm in Taree and a ringside seat for Tim Tszyu’s world title fight,but he still found time to watch the round’s final match.
He would have seen George Illawarra’s fullback producing his best game in the NRL,inspiring win over the Titans at Kogarah.
Latrell Mitchell and Tyrell Sloan embrace after the 2023 Charity Shield.Fox Sports
Indigenous NRL fullbacks seemed to stand up after the alleged racial abuse,from Cronulla’s Will Kennedy bagging his first NRL hat-trick to Sloan capping it with a fine display on Sunday night.
“What happened at Penrith is not right and there’s no room for racism,” Sloan said. “We back Trell and support him with whatever happens. We have a group chat from our All-Stars camp and all the boys have been sending messages there and checking up on him. The things he’s done in this game,he doesn’t deserve what he goes through.”
Tyrell Sloan starred for the Dragons.Getty
Sloan,20,admitted to his own struggles,too. He was dumped after three NRL matches last year and struggled to fight his way back into the team despite being touted as St George Illawarra’s next big thing.
When Cody Ramsey was struck down by a rare illness during pre-season,Sloan was anointed as the No.1 – and won’t look back judging by his sparkling display to start the competition.
“My headspace is a lot better,” Sloan said. “I went through some things off the field and I was probably too proud to get help and pushing everything away.
“Having guys like Nicho Hynes and Latrell,they’re boys I can lean on and talk to. I connect with the Aboriginal boys a lot and every year I look forward to going into camp with the All-Stars.
“For me,I needed to get my confidence back. Last year I was a bit up and down and I had a simple role[against the Titans]. Coming here after the pre-season I’m a lot more mature,but it’s only one game and I’ve got to stay grounded.
“‘Hook’[coach Anthony Griffin] has been backing me since pre-season started. I want to go out there and have some fun doing my job,not overthinking stuff. You can obviously go into a game with a head full of thoughts,but I wanted to be calm and let my footy do the talking.
“But we have a long season to go.”
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