Mitchell watch

[Kirk31]

Time will tell with Tom Mitchell. I would be disappointed to lose him however I trust the club will do the right thing for the club. I think the great thing for the club is with Heeney, Mills, Jones and Hewitt all coming through, there is depth in the younger midfield players. However my focus is on the next 8 weeks as we hope to see this great club win the 2016 Premiership.

[AnnieH]

Why don't we wait to see if he re-signs before you all say goodbye.

[goswannies]

Why don't we wait to see if he re-signs before you all say goodbye.

Hear, hear!!!

[barry]

Mitchell will stay I think.

On footy classified they were discussion whether Hawthorn was a destination club anymore, since they have a significant proportion of their team nearing retirement and the glory days may be over. I think this would be reinforced if that slipped to outside top 4 this year.

[azzzr]

O'meara going in for more surgery, so if our plan was to replace Mitchell with him. I'd be taking the kitchen sink and throwing it at a suitable deal for Tom to stay

[Billericay]

O'meara going in for more surgery, so if our plan was to replace Mitchell with him. I'd be taking the kitchen sink and throwing it at a suitable deal for Tom to stay

I don't see why we wouldn't get Prestia instead? Assuming TM is gorn that is

[kangle4]

I don't see why we wouldn't get Prestia instead? Assuming TM is gorn that is

Prestia is almost certainly going to Richmond.

[azzzr]

I don't see why we wouldn't get Prestia instead? Assuming TM is gorn that is

I believe either he or his manager said he wanted to move back to melbourne

[Maltopia]

I believe either he or his manager said he wanted to move back to melbourne

Tippett apparently wanted to go from SA back to Qld. Maybe Prestia will also be happy stopping halfway back home?

[graemed]

Mitchell watch

Tom Mitchell will be a significant loss to the team if he or his management decide that leaving would be the best choice.
Personally I have been a big fan since he first came through on the f/s rule. He clearly was one of the best draftees in his era. He took a while to break out of his bad defensive habits but that may have been due more to a string of injuries and lack of fitness than any flaw in attitude.
He has an uncanny ability to "be where the ball is" and be there alone.
He has a bad habit of kicking without looking when under pressure but you can only kick it if you've got it.
This year we have seen his ability to withstand pressure, apply himself relentlessly and selflessly to a task and these are qualities that clearly impressed hawthorn.
He is an A grade footballer. These are rare and he has the determination to succeed. He has a great tank and it's going to get better.
He will be missed. More than that he will hurt us.

[Nico]

Tom only wants to go to Hawthorn so he can get more free kicks.

[Steve]

It is a big call to leave a team like Sydney (for established players). If he leaves I think Mitchell will experience what Malceski did - that those around you made it a hell of a lot easier to be good at what you did.

I guess as a player you would take the money if it was significantly more, but we're in a no-lose position given he's not a free agent.

Our midfield runs deep enough and if Mitchell goes it's actually a chance to better balance our side by bringing in someone who fills a current void.

All that said I still think he'll stay - he's a Plan B for the teams like Hawthorn behind the likes of Hurley, O'Meara etc, and ultimately he's at our mercy in terms of agreeing to a trade anyway.

So staying is his safest bet assuming our offer gets a bit closer to what he's asking for.

[Hotpotato]

Money envy must be somewhat of an ongoing problem in clubs where the players are mostly on different salaries for what they all do : trying to get a possession and do something helpful with it .
On review day I guess some of them go : bloody hell, look how far I ran, marked , kicked , tackled , goaled etc compared to him over there who didn't do diddedly squat in comparison and he's pocketing blah blah . So I'm now being underpaid bigtime .
No wonder you need a manager to go into bat for you.
Tom reckon he's worth quite a bit more now . Just wish they would reach an agreement before the finals .

[ScottH]

Tom only wants to go to Hawthorn so he can get more free kicks.

[southsideswan]

The trouble is he was paid far too much to start with, this has been explained in matching GWS offer. Obviously enough originally to sign but way beyond his position in the squad. It is hard to say ok you were paid $450,000 to play NEAFL and after 50+ with the team we are only going to offer a bit more to resign. He is a very good player and if he goes there will be regrets. I just feel in the end game that it will open opportunities for others to develop.

I hope the recruiting team stick to their guns. You can only offer "overs" to so many players in a team before it becomes an issue with the bottom half.