Tom Mitchell (Australian footballer)

Tom Mitchell
Mitchell playing for Hawthorn in April 2017
Personal information
Full name Tom Mitchell
Nickname(s) Titch
Date of birth (1993-05-31) 31 May 1993
Place of birth Perth, Australia
Original team(s) Claremont (WAFL)
Draft No. 21 (F/S), 2011 national draft
Debut Round 10, 2013, Sydney
vs. Essendon, at Sydney Cricket Ground
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 3
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2012–2016 Sydney 065 (38)
2017– Hawthorn 046 (23)
Total 111 (61)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2018.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Tom Mitchell (born 31 May 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2012 to 2016 and currently holds the record for the most disposals in an AFL game, which he set against the Collingwood Football Club in 2018. Mitchell was acknowledged for his record-breaking 2018 season after polling 28 votes to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal.

Personal life

Mitchell's father, Barry, was drafted from Northvale JFC in Mulgrave, Victoria and won the Bob Skilton Medal in 1991. Barry played for Sydney, Carlton and Collingwood after also being drafted alongside Warwick Capper. Mitchell's younger sister, Chelsea, signed on to play for Hawthorn’s VFL Women’s side in 2018.[2]

AFL career

Sydney (2012–2016)

Mitchell was drafted to Sydney with pick 21 in the 2011 AFL draft under the father–son rule.[3] Mitchell was not able to make his senior debut in 2012, due mainly to a slew of injuries. Whilst he did show some strong form in his few games in the reserves, this wasn't enough for him to play in a very strong senior side that would ultimately go on to win a premiership.

Mitchell made his debut in round 10, 2013 against Essendon at the SCG. He received a 2013 AFL Rising Star nomination the following week for his round 11 performance against Adelaide.[4] During round 9 of the 2014 season, Mitchell played in the Swans reserves team and picked up a world record 64 disposals (23 contested, 41 uncontested). He also kicked four goals in the same game.

At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Mitchell requested a trade from Sydney[5] and was subsequently traded to Hawthorn in October.[6]

Hawthorn (2017–present)

Up to and including round 8 of the 2017 season, Mitchell had accumulated more disposals than any other player in the competition. He broke the VFL/AFL record for the most disposals in a home and away season in round 22 when he amassed his 749th possession, surpassing Wayne Richardson's mark set in 1971.[7] Following a record-breaking home and away season, Mitchell was named in the All-Australian team for the first time in his career.[8] He was runner-up to Dustin Martin in the 2017 Brownlow Medal count (Patrick Dangerfield polled more votes, but was ineligible due to suspension).[9] Mitchell won his first Peter Crimmins Medal, finishing ahead of both Ben McEvoy and Luke Hodge.

In round 1 of the 2018 season on March 24, Mitchell also broke the record for the most disposals in an VFL/AFL game by amassing a total of 54 possessions.[10] Additionally, he became the first player ever to have 50 or more disposals twice in their career. Mitchell accumulated another 50 touches in Hawthorn's round 15 loss to GWS and subsequently became the first player to have multiple 50+ disposal games in a season.[11] His 848 disposals in 2018 surpassed Matt Crouch's season record of 825, set almost 12 months earlier.[12]

After completing another record-breaking season, Mitchell won the 2018 Brownlow Medal. This award capped off a season where Mitchell was recognised for his efforts and ball-winning proficiency by also winning the Leigh Matthews Trophy[13] and the Lou Richards Medal along with other media awards as well. Mitchell became the first Hawthorn player to win the Leigh Matthews Trophy since Shane Crawford in 1999.

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2018 season[14][15]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
VFL/AFL record
Led the league for the season only
Led the league after season and finals
Won
Season Team No. Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T Votes
Totals Averages (per game)
2012 Sydney 60———————————————
2013 Sydney 614111713413627045660.20.39.18.417.52.84.22
2014 Sydney 6622576812525340.30.49.410.519.92.84.40
2015 Sydney 619107212303515701240.50.411.215.927.13.76.512
2016 Sydney 62615132824437251011600.60.510.817.027.93.96.212
2017 Hawthorn 32210103074807871171430.50.514.021.835.85.36.525
2018 Hawthorn 3241373894598481131520.50.316.219.135.34.76.328
Career 11161561381188932704716790.50.512.417.029.54.26.179

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Tom Mitchell". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "A Mitchell family affair". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "In the name of the father: Mitchell to follow dad's footsteps at Swans". smh.com.au.
  4. ↑ "Mitchell gets Rising Star nomination". afl.com.au.
  5. ↑ Bowen, Nick (10 October 2016). "Star Swan Tom Mitchell requests trade to Hawks". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Laughton, Max (14 October 2016). "Hawthorn acquires Sydney Swans midfielder Tom Mitchell". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Meldrum, Ethan (19 August 2017). "Tom Mitchell Absolutely Smashes An All-Time Record". Triple M. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Mitchell an All Australian". hawthornfc.com.au. Hawthorn Football Club. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  9. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-09-25/dustys-late-surge-seals-recordbreaking-brownlow-win
  10. ↑ Naghten, Tom. "Tom Mitchell collects record 54 disposals as Hawthorn handle Collingwood". http://www.sportingnews.com. Sporting News Media. Retrieved 2 July 2018. External link in |website= (help)
  11. ↑ "Season and Game Records (1965-2018): Most Disposals In A Game". www.afltables.com. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "Season and Game Records (1965-2018): Most Disposals In A Season". www.afltables.com. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  13. ↑ http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/2018-08-30/mitchell-named-aflpla-mvp
  14. ↑ "Tom Mitchell Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Tom Mitchell". afl.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
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