Whats the case for Mitchell our greatest ever centreman ?

[Procrastinator35]

Whoa, imagine if they all played in the same team.

My thoughts exactly.

Doubt any other club across the entire history of AFL/VFL footy could match that quality list of Champion smalls.... Add Cyril to that list as well.

Why would you want to support any other club?

 

[killerspud]

AS as out an out midfielder You would say it is between Platten and Mitchell - Matthews as an allround footballer definitely ahead given that he played rover and would kick his 70 odd goals a season. The only other one I could think of is Plough who was a great player but I think Mitchell passes him. Platten would qualify as more of a rover. Crawford maybe but I think Sam has more strings to the bow - kicks both sides, racks up huge numbers and finishes it off being a premiership captain. Yeah Sam gets my vote for best centreman (not that I think the Ruck Rover/Rover/Centreman division exists anymore)

 

[HolyWars]

Ahead of Crawf?

I would.

Matthews - Mitchell/Platten - Crawford for me.

Crawf was certainly better in the earlier stage, but Mitchell in the mid-late stage.

 

[dipper86]

Hes the one player I'm most nervous about losing out of our older clan...He's been the heart of our midfield for a very long time.
Mitchell is a footballing genius.. ...I think he may have just surpassed Platten, if not its neck and neck.

Its Matthews > Mitchell/Platten > ......

 

[WWSD]

Ahead of Crawf?

As much as I like Crawford, Mitchell is a better footballer in my opinion.

 

[A Diakos]

Matthews Platten Mitchell Tuck Crawford Wallace ………Platten is ahead of mitchell, people have short memories….platten is an all time great and dermott rates platten judd ablett jnr diesel williams as the 4 best mids of last 30/35 years….when u think of all the superstars he has left out (watson bradley west harvey hayes buckley voss etc etc) it puts into some perspective

 

[seysearles]

Whats the case for Mitchell our greatest ever centreman ?

 

[WWSD]

Since 2000 only Gary Ablett and Chris Judd have polled more Brownlow votes then Mitchell.

 

[wahawk]

I don't know that he's getting any better, but I certainly think he's becoming more effective each year. Maybe it's the rotations, giving him space instead of being the guy at the bottom of the pack? I see him now as 'The Distributor' these days, far more than being 'The Extractor' & I think he's more important to us in that role as well as being more resilient to being tagged.

I like it
'The Extractor' has transformed into 'The Distributor'

 

[Procrastinator35]

Matthews Platten Mitchell Tuck Crawford Wallace ………Platten is ahead of mitchell, people have short memories….platten is an all time great and dermott rates platten judd ablett jnr diesel williams as the 4 best mids of last 30/35 years….when u think of all the superstars he has left out (watson bradley west harvey hayes buckley voss etc etc) it puts into some perspective

Friar Tuck was a Ruck/Rover so I'd be disinclined to include him in the current discussion....At 188cm he was hardly a small.

Wallace would rank on the second tier of our quality smalls down the years, alongside of Crimmins, Law & Edwards....Bloke couldn't kick over a jam-jar.

There is a clear distinction between our A grade champions in Matthews/Platten/Mitchell/Crawford & the rest, though I'm hoping that another 5 years of injury free, high-octane quality football will see Cyril join their ranks.

Since 2000 only Gary Ablett and Chris Judd have polled more Brownlow votes then Mitchell.

Clearly, he needs to shave his head.

 

[crazywildhorse]

Sam is a good shot for the player with the most brownlow votes without winning the thing. Can he drag together the extra 24 votes in the next couple of years?

 

[seysearles]

Sam is a good shot for the player with the most brownlow votes without winning the thing. Can he drag together the extra 24 votes in the next couple of years?

Or better still, drags in 30 next season and wins it.

 

[Agent Smith]

You'd think playing him with a bunch of kids who didn't know the team structures or where to run would have diminished the quality of his output, but nup, the man kept hitting his teammates on the chest with the pill in a meaningless praccy match that sort of sums up the guy's talent. Sam Mitchell can do it all, and he doesn't need to be surrounded by champions to make him look good. He's the one that makes everyone else look better!!

 

[grumbleguts]

Amazingly, Mitchell and Hodge's career have been so colinear that they are the most successful duo in brownlow history. They have polled more brownlow votes in the same game than any other duo ever.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Amazingly, Mitchell and Hodge's career have been so colinear that they are the most successful duo in brownlow history. They have polled more brownlow votes in the same game than any other duo ever.

Be interesting to see a comparison between those 2 & Matthews/Knights then, whose careers also coincidedl!

 

[The Swert]

I prefer Crawford.

Crawford had to hold the team by himself for 10 years. Mitchell has had a lot of support. Teams have to choose who to tag with our modern team; in the late 90s and early 00s there was only 1 man. Crawford was tagged in every game for about 10 years and was able to burn them off with superior fitness.

If Crawford had more than a 50% win rate (Mitchell has 60%), then he could've easily got a second brownlow and other accolades.

He was also more dangerous as a goalkicker.


I love Mitchell though. He and Hodge define this current successful period.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Remember Crawf also had his demon years after winning the Brownlow where he got too caught up in off field stuff and his performances plummeted. Never the case with Mitch.

 

[kranky al]

What position would you guys say he plays most of his footy these days?

 

[Procrastinator35]

What position would you guys say he plays most of his footy these days?

Depends on the game-day situation....When the match is on the line & we need the 4 points he goes into the middle....If not, he plays the QB off half back, which he'll likely be doing for most of this season.

In the Big games & finals, you'll mostly find him in the middle, much as you would Hodge, Lewis & even Burgers to a lesser degree.

That way, we should 'extract' another 2 or 3 years out of him yet.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Yeah I'd have from traditional positions:

RR: Tuck > ...
Ro: Matthews > Platten > Crawford > ...
Ce: Mitchell > Wallace > ...
Wg: Dipper > Eade > Pritchard > Bateman > ...

 

[kranky al]

Depends on the game-day situation....When the match is on the line & we need the 4 points he goes into the middle....If not, he plays the QB off half back, which he'll likely be doing for most of this season.

In the Big games & finals, you'll mostly find him in the middle, much as you would Hodge, Lewis & even Burgers to a lesser degree.

That way, we should 'extract' another 2 or 3 years out of him yet.

So what percentage game time on the flank and what percentage in the middle.

Say more the last 2-3 years rather than over his career?

 

[Procrastinator35]

So what percentage game time on the flank and what percentage in the middle.

Say more the last 2-3 years rather than over his career?

Have no idea on the exact %....No doubt, the club will know em.

All I can tell you is what I see on the box, Which would appear to equate to about a 50/50 split last year, at a guess.

But he did miss 8 games.

Clarko has played him off half back only from 2013 on-wards from memory, with the dual purpose of resting him, so as to extend his carer & save him for when we need him most....This also provides for giving other guys the chance to learn the trade in the middle so that the transition - when we do eventually lose him - is a seamless one.

 

[kranky al]

Cheers

 

[seysearles]

As much as I like Crawford, Mitchell is a better footballer in my opinion.

Crawford was a supremely talented athlete with very good footy skills whereas Mitchell is just an incredibly smart and gifted footballer with limited athletic ability. Crawford regularly seized control of games himself and won them off his own boot as though he was on the only player on the ground. Mitchell however has the incredibly unrated talent of seizing control of the game and bringing other players into the contest rather than attempting to do it on his own. While less spectacular I think Mitchell's contribution is more significant. A comparison of team results during their different eras would back this up.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

Matthews and daylight. You can throw a blanket over the rest.

Platten, Crawf, Mitchell, Crimmins, Tuck and Pritchard were/are no mugs but they pale in to insignificance against Lethal in his prime. His 1977 season is unparalleled. 91 goals and averaged 28 possies a game. Those numbers are illegal