Draft Profile Kane Mitchell

[Silent Alarm]

I am don't know him personally but I have seen him extensively in the WAFL. Disposal issues is an understatement. He regularly just kicks it forward without looking and his long kicks aren't even that long. When he does try and hit a target, it usually a shank or floater of some description. In the pinpointv precision of AFL, he had no place. Won the Sandover due to elite endurance in a dominant team.

His playing skill should be offensive to all football supporters and I am sure it would take a miracle to fix his issues at 23. He's been kicking a footy for probably 15 years. Not many dramatically improve their kicking even after entering the system as draftees let alone mature age

Exactly!

When you're picked up at 23, you're usually going to be lacking in fitness, build... just things you can work on in a professional, full-time environment. Look at Podsiadly or Barlow. Mitchell's faults are ones you can't sandover down.

The comparisons to Dane Swan are absolutely batshit fvcking crazy. There's nothing worse than sycophantic, hyperbolic media who go out and say 'young kid looks like champion because, um, they look a bit the same and play the same role.' Come on. Dane Swan is essentially in the top five midfielders in the competition. He won a Brownlow and was one of the blokes who, in the last 15ish years, actually thoroughly deserved it! If Dane Swan let footy upset him, he'd be offended by that.

 

[El_Scorcho]

You can compare style without comparing quality.

Nobody is saying Kane Mitchell is or will ever be anywhere near Swan's class. However he can and should be modelling himself on Swan's game, because his strengths lend themselves to that style.

Nobody is calling him a poor man's Mitchell or Ablett or Judd because his style isn't anything like those players.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Without knowing enough about the WA footy climate to answer this myself, can someone give me some insight into why West Coast supporters are generally pretty positive about Mitchell and Freo supporters are generally pretty Negative?

It's fascinating.

 

[Silent Alarm]

You can compare style without comparing quality.

Nobody is saying Kane Mitchell is or will ever be anywhere near Swan's class. However he can and should be modelling himself on Swan's game, because his strengths lend themselves to that style.

Nobody is calling him a poor man's Mitchell or Ablett or Judd because his style isn't anything like those players.

Putting him, a guy who hasn't played a single game of first class professional football, in the same sentence as someone deemed the best in the sport's premier competition is OTT. Come on. This isn't even a Port Adelaide thing. Not even a Claremont thing. It's an honesty thing and it's just being realistic. He just has flaws that are too deep for AFL.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Go and have a look at just about every mock draft in the Drafts and Trading board. The guys in there who know there stuff will almost always use a current player as a basis for comparison on style so fans of the clubs that draft them can get an idea on what sort of player they are getting.

This isn't any different.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Without knowing enough about the WA footy climate to answer this myself, can someone give me some insight into why West Coast supporters are generally pretty positive about Mitchell and Freo supporters are generally pretty Negative?

It's fascinating.

No reason.

Claremont draw their players, traditionally, from exclusive private schools. So people have always hated them. Even though I never grew up in the WAFL heyday, I inherited it. Claremont's country zone is a pretty strong one, they draw from the town I grew up in. I know about a dozen blokes on the squad now, and what they said about Mitchell was what I always thought. People at the club know it.

West Coast and Freo don't really have any allegiances to specific WAFL clubs. Like, natural ones. But an Eagles supporting South Freo fan is rare, but plenty of East Freo supporters are West Coast followers – gloryhunters, basically.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Brad Ebert's kicking was atrocious when we brought him over too. These days it's very reliable.

Mitchell's endurance and ball-winning ability are good enough that he doesn't have to kick like Shannon Hurn or Nick Dal Santo. Even if all he's doing is bombing it long to contests, a guy who gets the ball 25 times a day and who has the speed to go for a run can still have a positive impact on the game for his side. As long as he plays within his limitations and keeps his clangers to a minimum, he should be handy depth at worst.

If you want to be a finals side, Kane Mitchell will be depth. At best.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Just out of interest Silent Alarm, as a Dockers supporter, what are your thoughts on Michael Barlow? And if they're positive, then what makes you think that Kane Mitchell isn't capable of reaching a level approaching Barlow's?

Barlow has a footy brain. He levitates around packs and has a nous for finding the footy. His fitness base isn't that above average, I don't think, but he knows where to be. His kicking is pretty suss. Even worse at set shows. But his decision making is pretty great. And his handballing is extremely smart. Can you be handball witty? Well he's handball witty.

But this is a guy who, even with a year out and a leg-break, is one of the better midfielders in a top eight side. He plays completely differently to Kane Mitchell, too. Mitchell racks it up because he just runs and runs and runs. Give him the ball and he's... kind of lost with it.

I said this all before the draft.

I watched a fair bit of WAFL footy and when I went with someone, we always said the same thing.

 

[half_back_flank]

Brad Ebert's kicking was atrocious when we brought him over too. These days it's very reliable.

That's rewriting history.

He has improved at Port (a lot would be due to the increased confidence thanks to the faith that Port have shown him), but he was no where near an atrocious kick, closer to just average.

 

[Elite Crow]

Brad Ebert's kicking was atrocious when we brought him over too. These days it's very reliable.

Mitchell's endurance and ball-winning ability are good enough that he doesn't have to kick like Shannon Hurn or Nick Dal Santo. Even if all he's doing is bombing it long to contests, a guy who gets the ball 25 times a day and who has the speed to go for a run can still have a positive impact on the game for his side. As long as he plays within his limitations and keeps his clangers to a minimum, he should be handy depth at worst.

Guys like Michael Barlow and Matthew Boyd are accumulators who aren't good kicks either, but they'd probably make any side's best 22.

If Eberts kicking was atrocious, why did you recruit him? Don't tell me it was because you were confident of improving his kicking because I can't think of one Port player whose kicking has improved.

As HBF pointed out you are rewriting history. Mitchell isn't a patch on Barlow, against us he was too scared to bounce the ball. He will be lucky to play a game, and if he does get a game your season has turned to shit.

 

[Kram]

Barlow's disposable only really got suspect after his leg got snapped in half. .

 

[half_back_flank]

I can. Brad Ebert's. West Coast players joked about Brad Ebert's kicking on their Youtube channel. There was a video of them playing AFL Live, a player kicked it out on the full and they referred to it as 'doing an Ebert'. In his final year at the Eagles he had (IIRC, don't have the stats in front of me right now) a kicking efficiency of 56%. I'm not the one re-writing history.

Yes, you are.

Boak had a kicking efficiency of 50% in 2010, it's a meaningless stat. He never was an "atrocious" kick.

 

[Elite Crow]

I can. Brad Ebert's. West Coast players joked about Brad Ebert's kicking on their Youtube channel. There was a video of them playing AFL Live, a player kicked it out on the full and they referred to it as 'doing an Ebert'. In his final year at the Eagles he had (IIRC, don't have the stats in front of me right now) a kicking efficiency of 56%. I'm not the one re-writing history.

I've said a few times that the player Mitchell reminds me of the most is actually John McCarthy. Hard runner, quick, can play inside and outside, hits the scoreboard, but his kicking is suspect. I don't think that Mitchell will reach the level of somebody like Barlow, but I doubt that anybody at Fremantle expected Barlow to reach Barlow's level when they drafted him either.

At least we're not about to replace Brodie Smith with Richard Tambling

But you haven't answered the question, if he was an atrocious kick why did you recruit him? It can't be because of your ability to improve a players kick as you've only given one example and that's Ebert. Even then his kicking wasn't atrocious.

As for Tambling, lucky Smiths injury is only short term. Speaking of improving a players kicking, did you do that with Ben Jacobs?

 

[half_back_flank]

I wasn't aware that somebody having a different opinion to you was 're-writing history', but here we are This is Bigfooty after all, where everyone is objectively right about everything all the time.

He was never an atrocious kick and Port weren't the saviour that rectified this. If you don't want to use rewriting history might i suggest you are favourably altering the truth?

 

[Geoffa32]

I can. Brad Ebert's. West Coast players joked about Brad Ebert's kicking on their Youtube channel. There was a video of them playing AFL Live, a player kicked it out on the full and they referred to it as 'doing an Ebert'. In his final year at the Eagles he had (IIRC, don't have the stats in front of me right now) a kicking efficiency of 56%. I'm not the one re-writing history.

Could an improvement in DE% be as a result of kicking the ball longer at Port. Aren't long kicks considered higher DE% than shorter ones. Primus loved the long ball, so much so your movement in 2011/12 was quite predictable.


Hence statistically Ebert improved his kicking by virture of just kicking the ball longer as per coaches instruction?

 

[Geoffa32]

Statistically Troy Chaplin and Kane Cornes were amongst one the best kicks in the AFL in 2012.


http://www.news.com.au/sport/best-kicks-in-the-afl-revealed/story-fnect155-1226419850156



See what happens when you guage a player's ability on stats..........

 

[half_back_flank]

In your opinion. In the opinion of myself and many others, he was. If you care enough to check, I'm sure you could search my posts back when he was at West Coast and find me saying the same thing.

That would be a worthwhile endeavour wouldn't it, totally unbiased.

But yeah, let's talk about Kane Mitchell again.

 

[Jakko]

I think Mitchell is more of a poor mans Jarrod Schofield.

Outside of Kane, Boak, Ebert, we dont have a lot of endurance runners. He just needs to get to contests for a whole game and he will be helpful for us.

But once again, hes just a rookie pick. Hes nowhere near perfect, if he fills a need for 3 years then its a good pick.

 

[JunglistPosse]

Without knowing enough about the WA footy climate to answer this myself, can someone give me some insight into why West Coast supporters are generally pretty positive about Mitchell and Freo supporters are generally pretty Negative?

It's fascinating.

Good question. The only thing I can think of is that Kane trained with Freo In the previous preseason. We have a posse of supporters that attend these training sessions. May be based on this?

 

[Righteo]

Without knowing enough about the WA footy climate to answer this myself, can someone give me some insight into why West Coast supporters are generally pretty positive about Mitchell and Freo supporters are generally pretty Negative?

It's fascinating.

I share sTeel's sentiments, have I blown your mind?

It has nothing to do with being a West Coast or Freo supporter.

 

[Righteo]

Just out of interest Silent Alarm, as a Dockers supporter, what are your thoughts on Michael Barlow? And if they're positive, then what makes you think that Kane Mitchell isn't capable of reaching a level approaching Barlow's?

Seriously gopower, does all your info on Mitchell come from training reports? I'm not sure you've ever seen him play a game.

 

[Hellgood]

When he was playing in the WAFL, Mitchell was very much a love/hate figure. He annoyed the shit out of opposing clubs players, he wasn't a dirty player or anything like that, I just don't think players like being beaten much by a little midget with girl hair! Kyle Hams even tweeted something about walking out of the Sandover Medal count if it looked like Mitchell would win. But Claremont fans/neutrals loved him and he took on a cult status. He was a high school sport teacher in Perth and was very popular with the students apparently, so I don't think he's too bad a bloke.

From all accounts, he has settled well into Port and whilst he has a fair bit of convincing to do with his disposal, his work rate and ball finding ability looked good in the first NAB cup game. I don't think Swan is a good comparison, Swan is a tank who can batter through a heck of a lot of midifielders, whereas Mitchell is nowhere near that kind of body size and strength. We'll see what he can do though, he's earnt his shot in the AFL, it's up to him how far he can go.

 

[Elite Crow]

This isn't Bay 13.

says the man who trolled with your Tambling jibe

 

[whiteoak]

Can't stick a tackle.
Can't kick over a jam tin.
Can't play inside.
Can't play outside at AFL level.

Runs around lots though. And has beautiful hair.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

When he was playing in the WAFL, Mitchell was very much a love/hate figure. He annoyed the shit out of opposing clubs players, he wasn't a dirty player or anything like that, I just don't think players like being beaten much by a little midget with girl hair! Kyle Hams even tweeted something about walking out of the Sandover Medal count if it looked like Mitchell would win. But Claremont fans/neutrals loved him and he took on a cult status. He was a high school sport teacher in Perth and was very popular with the students apparently, so I don't think he's too bad a bloke.

From all accounts, he has settled well into Port and whilst he has a fair bit of convincing to do with his disposal, his work rate and ball finding ability looked good in the first NAB cup game. I don't think Swan is a good comparison, Swan is a tank who can batter through a heck of a lot of midifielders, whereas Mitchell is nowhere near that kind of body size and strength. We'll see what he can do though, he's earnt his shot in the AFL, it's up to him how far he can go.

I heard that in the WAFL he wasnt tagged because he wasnt damaging. Players in the WAFL just dont rate him at all. This is what I heard from a WAFL player. I dont watch WAFL so I cant comment with my opinion. Though I wish him all the best, I lurv his hair