Welcome to Hawthorn - Tom Mitchell - 2018 Brownlow medalist

[CHUBBSS]

Its funny how we have had a significant amount of posters have a pretty decent crack at Tom's ability on these forums the last couple of years (plodder, cant kick, etc, etc)

But does anyone honestly believe he wont absolutely kill it at the Pies next year? I mean he averaged 28 possessions being played off the ball for a weak midfield this year and still finished 5th in our B&F.

Surround him with the likes of Pendles, Sidebottom, DeGoey, etc let him play as a pure inside mid and honestly he could make AA again averaging 35+ possessions a game.

Pies have got an absolute steal of a deal here for a couple of 40 round picks. Daylight robbery in fact.

I do but who cares hope he goes well and fixes his junk disposals

Now if I see a Tom Mitchell that kicks and handballs better next year I will be screaming from the top of the roof to overhaul our development and biomechanics (if any) programs

 

[Dont_be_a_Plonka]

Its funny how we have had a significant amount of posters have a pretty decent crack at Tom's ability on these forums the last couple of years (plodder, cant kick, etc, etc)

But does anyone honestly believe he wont absolutely kill it at the Pies next year? I mean he averaged 28 possessions being played off the ball for a weak midfield this year and still finished 5th in our B&F.

Surround him with the likes of Pendles, Sidebottom, DeGoey, etc let him play as a pure inside mid and honestly he could make AA again averaging 35+ possessions a game.

Pies have got an absolute steal of a deal here for a couple of 40 round picks. Daylight robbery in fact.

Titch has an uncanny ability to be where the ball is.
The problem is what he does with it when he gets it along with his reluctance to try and get it back when the opposition has it (often after he has given it straight to them).

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Yeah, it's a thing alright. I've loved watching Tom going about it for us. But I'd be lying if I said he hasn't frustrated me at times since returning from injury. Given where we are, I think we had to trade him, but I would've loved that pick 25.

Another angle, if a 3rd rounder sans salary coverage was such a steal, why wasn't there more interest from other clubs?

I reckon I'll definitely watch a few Pies games next season though. I can foresee scenarios like those described above with Tom distributing it out to a much more potent midfield 40 odd times means the Pies could be quite the handful. But I can also foresee scenarios where possibly the Pies midfield becomes a bit more "Hawthorn-like"*. So I'll definitely watch a few games. Our midfield has had a few "tics" the last few years. Curious to see whether they decrease on our side and increase on Pies side. Huge potential for confirmations bias notwithstanding.

* Along the lines of the old joke: "My brother in law might be coming the other way" for those that know it.

It’s interesting I have often thought about why Tom has copped such a large degree of criticism for a Brownlow Medal winner and three time club champ.

My theory is that over the last 6 years in terms of AFL grade midfielders Tom has pretty much been it for the Hawks (although recently Newk and Moore have taken big steps towards rectifying this).

We had a 1 year cameo from Worps a while ago and Chad and JOM had little flashes here and there but in terms of a midfielder that we could rely on week in week to turn up and win 28+ possessions he’s all we have had.

So when we look for reasons why our midfield has sucked so badly people tend to have a crack at the one player actually winning the footy as of course the more you win the footy the more the rougher edges of your game are exposed (just through shear weight of numbers).

Whereas the other high priced recruits (JOM, Chad, etc) seemed to glide by without much scrutiny/criticism (out of sight out of mind I guess).

Anyway that’s just my take on it and the good thing about Tom going to the Pies is we can get some independent verification about how good a player he actually is and how much we will miss him now he is gone.

For what’s it worth I think he will kill it at the Pies and we will struggle big time to find someone to replace his contested ball winning ability.

 

[Hawkas1988]

Tom Mitchell's welcome msg to Pies fans. Slight dig at the Hawks on the way out or na? Could interpret it both ways really.

This will be the last time I ever have to wear them....hmm.

I guess he is just trying to endear himself to the pies fans.

 

[Dipper]

Am i your son?

Truly, this is one of the great posts.

 

[Dipper]

My son.....Soon you will take over...

I want to see the video of when you knelt in front of Dom, gently put your hands on his shoulders and explained that Tom leaving doesn't mean that he doesn't love us any more, that it's nothing we've done, and although he has a new family we can go and see him there whenever we want.

 

[James Buchanan]

This will be the last time I ever have to wear them....hmm.

I guess he is just trying to endear himself to the pies fans.

It isn't a good look though.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

No more 1-2 handballs that do nothing.
No more loopy kicks running inside 50 that could be an easy mark on a leading targets chest.
No more giving up on the chase after 2 meters
Far less frustration (unless he magically stops doing that for the pies, then I'll lose my lid!)

 

[Linda CRS]

Resisted this memory for balance but I’ve never forgotten as TM left Swans horse said in ch10 words to the effect “our culture won’t be worse for Tom leaving”. Whack! East to say now but never left me. Good luck Tom, 3rd club.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Some harsh comments here. Everything I've read about Tom Mitchell at hawthorn is that he's extremely committed to the game and great to have around the club. (And a good link between the senior and younger guys).

Good luck to him I reckon.

 

[H00t]

Resisted this memory for balance but I’ve never forgotten as TM left Swans horse said in ch10 words to the effect “our culture won’t be worse for Tom leaving”. Whack! East to say now but never left me. Good luck Tom, 3rd club.

This backs up what swans posters have said about Horse thinking pretty little of Mitchell.

It could have just been a personality clash between the two? I think there was some bad blood early on from needing to give him a contract to get him to nominate for them in the first place.

Saying that Mitchell has been the utmost professional in is training trying to get everything out of his body.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Resisted this memory for balance but I’ve never forgotten as TM left Swans horse said in ch10 words to the effect “our culture won’t be worse for Tom leaving”. Whack! East to say now but never left me. Good luck Tom, 3rd club.

I mean its not like he is a mercenary looking for big bucks.

He came to the Hawks cause he was struggling to get a full time position in the midfield at the Swans at the time.

And he only left the Hawks cause Sam basically shipped him around to all comers. Hardly his decision.

I have never heard a bad word said about him during his time at the Hawks. Seems a very level headed fellow and from all accounts a great guy to have round the club.

 

[burger09]

Could have been a slip of the tounge.
Could have been a glimps into why he's never been considered captaincy material. Loved hanging with the young blokes.

Played some outstanding seasons pre injury. Interested to see if he can be an effective player in another, more multi dimensional, midfield.

 

[Buzz Hawk]

Yeah Sam is a good guy and a good team man.
At his best he was a superb accumulator and distributor of the ball.
Especially in close, took a lot of heat, others fed off him. But that was some time ago.
Our new game plan, and in a way the game in general, has passed his strengths by. The 30m high, 30m long kicks wont be missed.
That’s not to say Collingwood won’t benefit from his presence, they will but for us it is not a massive loss.

 

[Sixpence]

This will be the last time I ever have to wear them....hmm.

I guess he is just trying to endear himself to the pies fans.

He's on holiday in the US, he didn't have to wear his Hawks shorts, he chose to.

 

[Hodgey 15]

Tom Mitchell's welcome msg to Pies fans. Slight dig at the Hawks on the way out or na? Could interpret it both ways really.

The bloke genuinely loved the HFC.
It's just him connecting to Collingwood faithful.

On SM-G950F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Yeah Sam is a good guy and a good team man.
At his best he was a superb accumulator and distributor of the ball.
Especially in close, took a lot of heat, others fed off him. But that was some time ago.
Our new game plan, and in a way the game in general, has passed his strengths by. The 30m high, 30m long kicks wont be missed.
That’s not to say Collingwood won’t benefit from his presence, they will but for us it is not a massive loss.

For me this is a reasonable critique of Tom.

I don't agree with all of it (I still think he is an effective footballer in the current AFL) but at least it's not taking potshots at the guy on his way out and disrespecting his legacy at the Hawks.

Good work Buzz Hawk

 

[The hands of stone]

His Brownlow in 2018 really was one of the great seasons , think it gets underrated still .

He is a victim of being the wrong age and having a playing style at odds with our new gameplan amd direction .
Yes he was frustrating to watch at times last season but he has been a significant contributor to the club in his time with us.

Thanks Tom for your service but this a mutually good decision

 

[Yardie]

His Brownlow in 2018 really was one of the great seasons , think it gets underrated still .

He is a victim of being the wrong age and having a playing style at odds with our new gameplan amd direction .
Yes he was frustrating to watch at times last season but he has been a significant contributor to the club in his time with us.

Thanks Tom for your service but this a mutually good decision

There were times this year where he just knew where Ned was going to drop the ball. That I think we will miss.

 

[RobJD]

Very impressed with the sentiment expressed by the Hawks posters towards Tom Mitchell - something that I'd like to see a bit more off on the Pies side to be honest. Well done for the way you have sent Tom off. Credit to you Hawks fans.

 

[Denver Day Lewis]

This backs up what swans posters have said about Horse thinking pretty little of Mitchell.

This might be related to the fact that Longmire comes across as a morose curmudgeon with no sense of humour, someone who takes himself far too seriously to be able to accomodate something like a difference of opinion or a perceived slight. There must be a reason that — despite ample AFL assistance, a constant influx of youthful talent, and a successful gameplan — Longmire hasn't won more than the one flag in 10 years. It's not bad luck. My guess he's a very competent coach who is extremely uninspiring. Making finals is one thing, winning the flag another.

Longmire's petty opinion might be no reflection on Tom Mitchell at all. Mitchell is someone who by all reports is a consummate professional, well-liked and well-respected at Hawthorn, and who has been extremely unlucky. The nature and timing of the broken leg was awful. And it was bad luck to be at a club where other senior players appear to have stopped responding to Clarkson, and their uninspiring performances showed that. Mitchell was asked to carry more than one player should, which was not his fault. And our midfield declined rapidly around him, and remained sub-par.

I have been very critical of Tom Mitchell, especially during match-day threads, but that is inextricably tied up with the coaching and recruiting of his midfield colleagues. We paid far too much for O'Meara, we paid too little attention to winning the football under Clarkson, we wasted (under Clarko) limited opportunities to draft midfield talent, and the defensive side of our midfiled gameplan was almost entirely absent.

Thank you Tom Mitchell. Despite your footballing limitations, you were a valuable part of the post-threepeat HFC. But I suspect the move to Collingwood will be a win-win-win, for all parties. Good luck.

 

[flinchfree]

Its funny how we have had a significant amount of posters have a pretty decent crack at Tom's ability on these forums the last couple of years (plodder, cant kick, etc, etc)

But does anyone honestly believe he wont absolutely kill it at the Pies next year? I mean he averaged 28 possessions being played off the ball for a weak midfield this year and still finished 5th in our B&F.

Surround him with the likes of Pendles, Sidebottom, DeGoey, etc let him play as a pure inside mid and honestly he could make AA again averaging 35+ possessions a game.

Pies have got an absolute steal of a deal here for a couple of 40 round picks. Daylight robbery in fact.

Makes you wonder why 15 other Clubs weren't lined up with their first round pick in offer.....just cray cray.
Oh, and there's no space on Cooper Stephens wagon for ya now, just so you've been warned.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Makes you wonder why 15 other Clubs weren't lined up with their first round pick in offer.....just cray cray.
Oh, and there's no space on Cooper Stephens wagon for ya now, just so you've been warned.

Meh my post wasn't a crack at Cooper, I personally like the idea of a 188cm midfielder with good hands.

More a query on why so many posters have marked Tom so hard during his time at the club given he could hardly have given any more on an individual level.

Also if Tom does average 30+ possessions a game next year and tidies up his disposal he is every chance of making AA again and to get that type of player from two junk picks in the 40s really is daylight robbery (of course we will need to wait to see how that pans out).

 

[theiaofseed]

Meh my post wasn't a crack at Cooper, I personally like the idea of a 188cm midfielder with good hands.

More a query on why so many posters have marked Tom so hard during his time at the club given he could hardly have given any more on an individual level.

Also if Tom does average 30+ possessions a game next year and tidies up his disposal he is every chance of making AA again and to get that type of player from two junk picks in the 40s really is daylight robbery (of course we will need to wait to see how that pans out).

They get a 10 pick upgrade and Mitchell for Henry it's not what I'd call daylight robbery

 

[Scrads]

Wonder how long until he realises he needs to change this lol