Retired Mitch Robinson (2014-2022)

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lionshine said:
Disgraceful that they couldn't explain it to him at half time whilst they explain every free kick they pay against Pendlebury, Dangerfield, Selwood, Cotchin, Riewoldt ect. when those guys whinge and complain mid game...
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He just turned his back on him and walked away.
Disrespectful!
 
Lions star reveals traumatic battle with stalker

A Brisbane Lions star and his family earlier this year faced a late-night death threat from a cyber stalker.

Speaking out in a bid to raise public awareness of the escalating levels of abuse against athletes, veteran midfielder Mitch Robinson, 31, says after growing a thick skin to deal with negative comments over the course of his career, this was above and beyond anything he had experienced before. He went to the police after the stalker left a voicemail saying that if Robinson didn’t reply he and his family would be murdered.
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Robinson wants laws beefed up to punish trolls. He is not alone in this call, with Seibold making the same appeal, and Glenn and Campbell backing his move.

“Firstly, there should be authentication rules around starting an account,” Robinson says.

“You should have to provide some ID and have your address and number so police can track this. At the moment, it’s just an endless pit where people can create one account and once it’s banned, create another.

“They also have to put more resources into it. When I had my case, it was a strenuous effort to get the cop shop and lodge a complaint and harder for me to charge this person because he lived in Perth.

“It’s a form of abuse and if you did this in public, well firstly, the person wouldn’t do it in public because there’s no computer screen between them and their victim, but secondly you’d be getting fined or arrested.

“The police can do better with this.”
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Brisbane Lions veteran Mitch Robinson is usually one to dismiss social media trolls and cyberbullies.

He believes that by giving them attention, you just fuel their desire to be noticed.

But earlier this year, Robinson was forced to take action after an online gaming hacker from Perth became his stalker, relentlessly targeting the 31-year-old for three straight months.

While the Lions enforcer was able to ignore the threats and ongoing attempts at contact for a while, it was a chilling message left on his phone in the middle of the night that left him furious and seeking action.

“I do a lot of online gaming and apparently he’s a bit of a hacker and he got my mobile number through some program,” Robinson says of his stalker.

“It started in March and went on for about three months. It was just random phone calls … he kept calling me at all hours and he would leave voicemails.

“I didn’t care too much about it but the last voicemail he left was the turning point.

“He left a voicemail that if I didn’t reply then he would murder me and my family.

“I have grown a thick skin over my career but when you mention families, it goes too far.

“I didn’t really tell anyone about it until it got to that point. I told (my partner) Emma (MacNeill) not to be alarmed and that we would sort it out.”

Robinson – a father of Chance, 6, and Charli, 4 – went to his local police station but didn’t take further action due to the lengthy process it would involve given the man lived in Western Australia.

He also spoke to the Brisbane Lions and the AFL and eventually let the man know he had gone to the police.

The phone calls stopped immediately.

But Robinson hasn’t forgotten the anger he felt when he heard that message.

“I don’t know why people have this mentality,” he says.

“I wanted to handle it myself but I thought if I did it the proper way, it was the best way. I went through the club and I went to the police station and they put it in their system.

“It was handled very professionally. That’s the first time I’ve taken it to that degree.

“I was more angry than anything … all I could wonder was why someone would say that. I’ve heard it all – ‘you’re a dickhead, ugly, a flog, you should go kill yourself’.

“It ranges from so many things. But, what goes through someone’s mind to think that’s okay?

“I watch sport myself and there’s never been a time where I thought I am that angry to send an abusive Instagram message.

“I can’t understand it.”

Robinson, who has been a key figure in Brisbane’s resurgence over the past two years, says he was late to join social media and even when he initially signed up to Instagram and Twitter in 2011, he flew under the radar, managing to avoid attacks from trolls.

He said it wasn’t until the Lions actually started finding more success last year and this season that the abuse started.

Even though they were winning, Robinson and his teammates were being targeted and a lot of it had to do with gambling.

“This year was a massive year in terms of the betting,” he says.

“It’s crazy. We get death threats. It happens to all the players in my team.

“You get these constant messages that say things like, ‘you’re s**t, you cost me money’. Some of them are $2 bets and it doesn’t mean anything to them but it’s still a reason for them to belittle you.

“It’s a lot. It can be bets like anytime goal scorer to first goal scorer to 15 touches a game. The messages will be more personal because they think it’s easy to do these things.

“But we don’t care about possessions or goals as long as we’re winning.”

Robinson says he used to reply to some trolls or call them out publicly, but has learnt that is the attention they crave.

He says as soon as he realised they want a reaction from the athletes they target, he stepped back and now passes on that knowledge to younger teammates.

“You can’t give them what they want,” he says.

“They want that reaction to show their friends. I know a few players call it out but I find it easiest to let it go now. I do question why they do it and get angry but when you move on, it’s fine.”

What Robinson does want to see though is a change in laws to bring tougher punishments to social media trolls.
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Mitch Robinson reveals what life is like for players inside Brisbane’s COVID bubble

I thought the boys were joking when they said we had to get off to the team bus as we headed to Melbourne Airport last Sunday morning.

We had completed our recovery at the hotel and I was still expecting to get home and get ready for the massive Easter Thursday game versus Collingwood — and for my son Chance’s seventh birthday two days later.

I had my headphones in, listening to music and completely missed the announcement by our CEO Greg Swann that Brisbane was potentially going into lockdown due to the risk of more cases surfacing, and until some contact tracing had been completed, we would have to sit by and wait.

It’s not every day the AFL CEO will show up at your team hotel on a Sunday with his kids, so we all knew that worst-case scenario discussions would be taking place.

We had just lost an absolute blockbuster of a game, a battle decided in the dying minutes of Friday night footy. We lost by one point, and you would know if you are an AFL fan just how dejected the players were.

Internally, the Lions players had a feeling we owed Geelong from the preliminary final loss last year and having been beaten by a better team on the night against the Sydney Swans in the opening round of the 2021 season, there had been a lot riding on the game.

That was the feeling among the group when we sat down in our team meeting immediately after the game. And that was when we heard for the first time from our GM of Football Danny Daly that Brisbane had recorded a few COVID cases.

It was news to us that Lions fans, and anyone who had travelled from Brisbane had been asked to leave GHMBA stadium, including one commentator Luke Hodge, who said he was told minutes before the game to leave.

We were disappointed, battered and bruised as we headed back to the hotel and into isolation ahead of an early-morning COVID test. We couldn’t leave the hotel til those results were all negative and were told then that flying home that day wasn’t an option. Once cleared we’d venture to Melbourne to stay overnight and ahead of a scheduled 11am flight home.

That didn’t happen, and once Gill McLachlan spoke to us about what is happening with the Government back home, we were made aware that although the best-case scenario was that we would still get back to the Gabba for the Easter Thursday game, there was also a chance we would remain in Melbourne for two weeks until after the game against the Doggies down in Ballarat.

We understood it was difficult to put any real timeline on potentially returning back to Brisbane as the active cases hadn’t been made public as yet. So, we did the same as last year and just prepared for the worse-case situations.

From there the players had the opportunity to speak to our partners and family and let them know what our movements could potentially be. We also spoke internally about doing our best to keep the games going as we all want to get the best outcome for the AFL going forward during these uncertain times. We completely understand that interstate clubs had to be away from home for an extended period of time in 2020, so there was no fuss on our end. We were more than happy to adapt to the circumstances in front of us.

When we were told that Brisbane had been officially sent into lockdown and we’d be staying on, it was that stage five days after our arrival in Geelong. Which was an issue because the boys had packed light for a two-day trip. We were all in need of a change of clothes.

Our assistant coach Ben Hudson has family contacts in the laundry business who came to the rescue, and a lot of the boys were thankful that their personal sponsors were so generous and accommodating with some tracksuits. It is a regular occurrence for us interstate boys to see our boots and apparel sponsors when we get the chance in Melbourne, and you can definitely see who sponsors who around the team hotel at the moment.

With all this going on, some people behind the scenes have done some great work in making sure our families back home are being looked after and the reserve players who are currently in lockdown are informed of what is happening and how they still play a part in our team going forward.

Four players were flown down to accommodate the main group, which was great. They were tested immediately on arrival and segregated from the main group in another hotel until their test results arrived, which were all negative and they are now a part of the squad.

On Monday we trained at Port Melbourne FC with a crowd of media watching on. This was obviously a big story for the media down here — and probably the first of potentially few this year — but we had quickly moved on and ready to adapt to what’s in front of us, and that is the Pies!

It was a strange feeling was running out on Punt Rd for our main training session on Tuesday for obvious reasons but it goes to show that during struggles that the AFL community looks after each other. It is always great to be reminded that we’re all in this together, so special thanks to the Richmond FC for letting us use their facilities.

Personally, I love the challenge that is in front of this group. We know we have some work to do but these are timely reminders of what can happen in the communities around us and making sure that we can do our best to keep the game going is at the forefront of our minds and the AFL’s, with safety for everyone involved also being a major factor.

Luckily for me, times have changed in what I see as having a good time, so I’ll continue to do my gaming from my hotel room. Thanks to ORDER and Alienware for delivering a gaming PC to my room to keep me sane for the next extended period. You’ll catch me hopefully live streaming some great hotel content along the way.

The hotel dining room has been transformed into a makeshift indoor cricket pitch. It's not perfect — I had to bat left-handed and there are 15 slips — but Matthew Wade approved of my skills via Instagram so I must be doing something right.

Wishing my son Chance a happy birthday this Saturday, I won’t be there but Daddy loves you!

As for the Lions, we really appreciate all the care and help we’ve received in the short time. And can’t wait to run out and put on a show for the fans at Marvel Stadium. Hopefully everyone back home is doing well, and we are all thinking of you guys.
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Brisbane Lions midfielder Mitch Robinson’s gruesome eye injury against Carlton

Brisbane Lions midfielder Mitch Robinson has given fans a close-up glimpse of the gruesome eye injury he sustained against Carlton on Saturday evening.

During the second half at Marvel Stadium, Robinson’s right eye was cut open after a heavy collision with Blues forward Harry McKay.

The 31-year-old spent time off the field because of the blood rule, returning after medics had stitched up his wound.

He finished the round six contest with 18 disposals, three clearances and two tackles.

Robinson shared a graphic image of the wound to social media after the 18-point win, captioning the picture: “Halloween came early.”

Lions teammate Rhys Mathieson commented: “Modern day warrior.”

Brisbane ruckman Archie Smith replied: “Somehow you look better.”
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Mitch Robinson is "exactly what Carlton needs right now"

"If they don’t think they need Mitch Robinson, they don’t know what they need.”
www.sen.com.au www.sen.com.au

Mitch Robinson had the best game of his career on the weekend, booting four goals in Brisbane’s win over GWS.

The 31-year-old former Blue has excelled since joining Brisbane as a delisted free agent at the end of 2014 and has emerged as a leader at the club.

Carlton made the surprising decision to cut Robinson in 2014, following an off-field incident during the season and a falling out of favour with then-coach Mick Malthouse.

Given where Carlton currently sits at the halfway point of the 2021 season, passionate Blues man Andy Maher believes Robinson is exactly what his side needs.

Maher: “He is exactly what Carlton needs right now. Exactly what they need,” he said on SEN’s Bob and Andy.

Bob Murphy: “He really is. An extrovert, grunt, loud.”

Maher: “Fight. Never goes down, never beaten, never stops putting in.”

Murphy: “Never stops directing traffic.”

Maher: “He’s a total pro. Say what you like about him, the left-field nature of his personality, say what you like, siren to siren he rings every last bit of what he’s got out of himself Mitch Robinson and he’s a bloody credit to himself. I love the bloke, I really do.

“They’re lucky to have him and the other mob, I guarantee you there aren’t too many people around Carlton that didn’t wish they had him back. And if they don’t think they need Mitch Robinson, they don’t know what they need.”

Murphy: “He’s the poster boy for a second-clubm’n.”

Carlton not only has a need for leadership, particularly late in games, but their midfield depth has also been called into question.

Robinson has played 121 games since joining the Lions and has been a fixture in their best 22 from the beginning.

He has averaged 20 disposals per game this season as part of their midfield and wing rotation.
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All I can say is that the umps discriminate against Mitch.

Always looking for the worst in him and when he blows up because he gets shafted time after time they probably say he doesnt respect them. The way he puts his head over the ball he should be proetcted like Selwood but doesn't, gets his head taken off and then smacked across the face, which then bleeds and the ummp says his opponent got the ball. Give me a Fffing break.

Played a top game to yesterday.
 
Robbo Gets One More

Brisbane hard-man Mitch Robinson will be at the Gabba for at least one more year after signing a contract for 2022.

Just days after announcing a two-year deal for defender Marcus Adams, Brisbane inked an extension for its lion-hearted wingman after another excellent campaign.

Robinson has played 20 games this season – and will return from a calf niggle for Saturday's qualifying final against Melbourne - bringing a tough edge and strong structure to the Lions' midfield.

He told AFL.com.au he received offers from elsewhere, but there was no chance of a move.

"It's exciting, I'm just rapt we got it done.

"There was a couple of teams in Melbourne knocking, but there was no chance I was going home.

"This is my home now. I love Brisbane, love where we're going."

Robinson, who turned 32 a couple of months ago, revived his career with the Lions in 2014 after being delisted by Carlton.

He has now played 130 games in the maroon, blue and gold after 100 with the Blues.

Robinson said he enjoyed playing "on edge" with a one-year deal.

"I like having something to prove," he said.

"And it keeps me motivated in the pre-season too, because we've got a lot of young players vying for my position.

"We've got Cal Ah Chee, Jaxon Prior … I really like that bit of pressure.

"It keeps us all motivated."
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The common ground that has two veteran Lions thriving

TO AN OUTSIDER, you wouldn't find two more different people than Mitch Robinson and Daniel Rich.

One is an extrovert, demonstrative on the field and loves to barrel into contests and inspire his teammates with ferocity and courage.

The other is quietly spoken, with shaggy blonde hair and a left boot that is arguably the most damaging in the AFL. A player that influences with precision and is aesthetically fun to watch.

But the pair of Brisbane veterans have something important in common.

They were both moved from their preferred midfield roles by coach Chris Fagan and have gone on to not only flourish in new positions to elongate their careers, but be crucial cogs in the Lions' premiership push.

Robinson's change was drastic. In six seasons at Carlton and his first four at Brisbane, the 32-year-old had established a reputation as an inside midfielder that loved the contest. He was a true inside midfielder.

Robinson won a best and fairest in 2015 and was runner-up in 2016, but things changed on the eve of 2019, Fagan's third season at the helm.

"We recruited JL (Jarryd Lyons), Lachie (Neale), (Dayne) Zorko was playing in there. I was getting pushed out to the B team (in match simulation) for whatever reason," Robinson recalled to AFL.com.au.

"Me and Fages had a chat about playing on the wing. I was like 'that's not my position at all. That's an outside player'.

"I thought it was a soft position out there."

However, with third-year ace Hugh McCluggage on the opposite wing, Robinson saw it as his best way to stay in the 22 and hasn't looked back.

He's played 62 of a possible 65 games over the past three season, missing only the 2019 semi-final with a hamstring strain and sitting out the past two weeks with a calf niggle.

He earned a one-year contract extension during the week and is like a caged lion ready to burst out against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

Robinson said learning the wing role took time. It wasn't something that could be easily measured by the number of disposals and clearances like he was used to.

"Hughy is out there receiving the ball and doing the flashy stuff and I'm getting back to help support (the defence), get up and down the ground," he said.

"Every player looks at what they're putting out. There's no dancing around the fact if you don't get your hands on the ball at all, you're not going to be playing games, because you're like a witches' hat.

"What Fages drills into us is it's an actual role. You're not going to get the ball all the time.

"I think I'm in the elite category for intercepts, so that's a role I can do, get back to clean up some ground balls or spoil or mark."

Robinson will stand behind stoppages around the ground to be the eyes and voice for his midfielders and he'll pick up opposition midfielders looking to leak forward from congestion without an opponent.
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2021 Season Review: Mitch Robinson

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In a year full of adversity for the Lions, Mitch Robinson was the human wrecking ball that inspired an energy lift time and time again for Brisbane.

The 32-year-old turned back the clock in 2021, holding down his spot on the wing until a niggling calf ruled him out for two weeks toward the end of the season.

The battering ram was prolific around the contest as he continued to put his body on the line while averaging 19.5 disposals a game.

His spectacular tackling efforts have become a trademark of his game, as seen in Round 10 when he courageously took on Dustin Martin, copping the brunt of the rampaging Brownlow Medallist to then be awarded with a holding the ball call.

But it was the midfielder’s aerial abilities that really caught Lions fans off-guard in 2021.

Averaging 4.5 marks a game, including a career-high 12 against GWS in Round 11, ‘Robbo’ became a threat in the air, adding another dynamic weapon to his already tough arsenal.

While his on-field efforts spoke for themselves, Robinson was also quite the talking point off-field.

The Coles Fan Awarded ‘Social Superstar’ enjoyed plenty of hilarious moments in front of Lions Media cameras, including an extraordinary, failed launch over Chris Fagan at training, sending our head coach hurdling toward the ground.

The antics continued in the teams Perth hub, as Robbo ran became quite the character in the gym.

Standout performance: Robbo steps up in Sir Doug Nicholls Round

In an incredible day at the Gabba, Round 11 saw Sir Doug Nicholls Round reach new heights as the Brisbane Lions hosted GWS in a Saturday afternoon spectacle.

The stage was set early as Charlie Cameron, Cal Ah Chee and Keidean Coleman led the Lions out of the race, performing a traditional dance, while Robinson ran out hand-in-hand with his son, Chance.

Robbo would finish the game with 30 disposals, 12 marks and a bag of 4 goals as he inspired his team to a 64-point win.

The best of those goals, coming on the three-quarter time siren, where Robinson launched a drop punt from outside 50, receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd.

Season Averages

Disposals - 19.5

Disposal Efficiency - 67.4%

Score Involvements - 4.5

Marks - 4.5

Tackles - 2.9
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Mixed fortunes for Sloane, Robinson in Tribunal's big Tuesday

Rioli was successful in overturning his suspension, but Robinson's was upheld.

Robinson was suspended for forceful front-on contact against Port Adelaide's Xavier Duursma.
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Qscan Injury Update: Lohmann Sidelined

Mitch Robinson will be a chance to return to Chris Fagan’s Best 22 against Sydney this weekend.

The hard-nut midfielder was sidelined from Sunday’s match with a calf complaint, but will be available to play this weekend against Sydney provided he completes training this week.
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