Analysis Tom Mitchell

[The King!]

We massively low balled him because Longmire was not fussed if he left. If someone offered you twice as much money to change jobs wouldn't you do it?

Clear to me Longmire didn't rate the bloke which is his right as coach I guess. But he was made to earn every opportunity he got to play seniors , start games etc.

 

[wolftone57]

I am not sure why Longmire disliked Mitchell or did not rate him that much, but it was a massive mistake in hindsight. Even at the time it felt like a mistake.

Mitchell's career ended with a wimper, but he never really recovered from his broken leg. Had he stayed at the Swans and not broken his leg he would likely be one of our best players right now.

Yes. I thought so. He was doing everything needed at the lower level. getting up 50 disposals, he was tackling and chasing, which wasn't natural for him. He was doing what was asked and Longmire, who had told everyone in football if you do what is asked and perform you get considered. He didn't seem to spend much time considering Mitchell. I can understand him wanting to move on and we weren't willing to pay him what he was really worth. probably Bud's contract still gumming up the Salary Cap. Longmire did this to a few others too. Dawson was willing to stay under certain circumstances. Mind you it took him 3 seasons to play him too. Even though he was starring at Reserves level. He was carrying the Reserves side. His leadership was obvious, it was also obvious he was that big bodied mid we needed so badly to replace Kennedy.

As much as Longmire was a good coach, he seems to have had favourites, Harry, Wil (if Longmire was coach Wil would still be with us), Mills, Heens, Errol, Joey, Parker, Bud (I think Horse had a blind spot when it came to Bud. We over-used Bud, went to him on far too many occasions. At one stage he was targeted on over 80% of entries. This came down to 63% but still far higher than any other forward in the AFL, almost double. horse won one premiership and he will go down in our history as a Favourite Son. But I think there were wasted opportunities and we could have gotten far more out of Bud by using him far less. Our forward line would have been far less predictable. We trash Mitchell, who was by far our best player in ability at the time. Wasted opportunities. Damn.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

There is obviously something about Mitchell behind the scenes that rubs people up the wrong way.

Sam Mitchell basically got rid of him immediately.

For all the criticism about cheap stats, he showed in the 2023 GF how valuable players are who can find the ball.

A very good player who I think Horse chronically underrated.

But his retirement interviews do solidify this vague feeling I have that he was a somewhat high-maintenance type.

 

[rustycrate]

We massively low balled him because Longmire was not fussed if he left. If someone offered you twice as much money to change jobs wouldn't you do it?

This is crap.
Even before we drafted him he demanded more cash.
He is an ungrateful little shit.
Glad he is out of the AFL.
Don't have to listen to his whining or anything.
Just a little grub.
Get lost grub.

 

[rustycrate]

Yes. I thought so. He was doing everything needed at the lower level. getting up 50 disposals, he was tackling and chasing, which wasn't natural for him. He was doing what was asked and Longmire, who had told everyone in football if you do what is asked and perform you get considered. He didn't seem to spend much time considering Mitchell. I can understand him wanting to move on and we weren't willing to pay him what he was really worth. probably Bud's contract still gumming up the Salary Cap. Longmire did this to a few others too. Dawson was willing to stay under certain circumstances. Mind you it took him 3 seasons to play him too. Even though he was starring at Reserves level. He was carrying the Reserves side. His leadership was obvious, it was also obvious he was that big bodied mid we needed so badly to replace Kennedy.

As much as Longmire was a good coach, he seems to have had favourites, Harry, Wil (if Longmire was coach Wil would still be with us), Mills, Heens, Errol, Joey, Parker, Bud (I think Horse had a blind spot when it came to Bud. We over-used Bud, went to him on far too many occasions. At one stage he was targeted on over 80% of entries. This came down to 63% but still far higher than any other forward in the AFL, almost double. horse won one premiership and he will go down in our history as a Favourite Son. But I think there were wasted opportunities and we could have gotten far more out of Bud by using him far less. Our forward line would have been far less predictable. We trash Mitchell, who was by far our best player in ability at the time. Wasted opportunities. Damn.

Defensively he was a liability. That is why he did not get games. He thought his shit didnt stink. He was taught the hard way. Learn to play defensively or stay out of the side. Sydney built him into the player he needed to be despite himself. He was a ball winner and thought his shit didnt stink. Well it did. Arrogance will get you nowhere at Sydney. He learnt the hard way.
Petulant little shit.
I was glad when we jettisoned this flotsum.
As small as he is it was a weight and annoyance we did not need.
Every club he went to found a way to get rid of him.
Does that tell a story?

 

[RUNVS]

This is crap.
Even before we drafted him he demanded more cash.
He is an ungrateful little shit.
Glad he is out of the AFL.
Don't have to listen to his whining or anything.
Just a little grub.
Get lost grub.

Yes he got more money out of us for his initial contract, but we still massively low balled him for his next contract. You don't get to say "you deserve less money this time, since you got a bit too much money last time" when discussing contracts.

 

[rustycrate]

Yes he got more money out of us for his initial contract, but we still massively low balled him for his next contract. You don't get to say "you deserve less money this time, since you got a bit too much money last time" when discussing contracts.

I don't know where to start in replay to this tripe.
He was a grub. He behaved like a grub. He went out like a grub.
Everyone was sick and tired of the little grub.
Money hungry little grub is how I remember him.

 

[RUNVS]

I don't know where to start in replay to this tripe.
He was a grub. He behaved like a grub. He went out like a grub.
Everyone was sick and tired of the little grub.
Money hungry little grub is how I remember him.

I am not sure where this hostility is coming from. He saw an opportunity to get a bit more money from the Swans for his first contract and took it.

Then he was massively low balled by Longmire, who clearly didn't really want him at the club, and he decided to leave the club that did not want him, seems like a fair call.

Then years later he left Hawthorn after it became clear Hawthorn did not see him in their future plans, again a pretty fair call from Mitchell.

 

[rustycrate]

I am not sure where this hostility is coming from. He saw an opportunity to get a bit more money from the Swans for his first contract and took it.

Then he was massively low balled by Longmire, who clearly didn't really want him at the club, and he decided to leave the club that did not want him, seems like a fair call.

Then years later he left Hawthorn after it became clear Hawthorn did not see him in their future plans, again a pretty fair call from Mitchell.

Dont see where this massive over ratiing of Mitchell comes from.
He had talent. But he thought the sun shone out of his arse. He was put in his place. Quite rightly. He was a ball winner with little defensive qualities. Other players had to compensate for his inadequacies. Yet the little shit demanded more money.
Lowballed is a stretch when he was not the complete player. Sydney had to drag him to competentcy.
A player lacking in defensive qualities, lacking in lots of team qualities. Selfish little brat.

 

[dosser]

Dont see where this massive over ratiing of Mitchell comes from.
He had talent. But he thought the sun shone out of his arse. He was put in his place. Quite rightly. He was a ball winner with little defensive qualities. Other players had to compensate for his inadequacies. Yet the little shit demanded more money.
Lowballed is a stretch when he was not the complete player. Sydney had to drag him to competentcy.
A player lacking in defensive qualities, lacking in lots of team qualities. Selfish little brat.

Whilst I don't have the emotions that you are displaying, I agree with your points. He was slow and didn't chase in defence so Longmire made sure he learnt that in the reserves. It made him a better player.
To say we lowballed him is also maybe a bit harsh, as i don't think there was anything left in the cap. Were we to dump some established players to give a better offer to someone who had only just played his first full season with us? That would have caused more angst than last trade period.
I think Longmire and the club were in a bind because Mitchell didn't work hard enough so he couldn't afford to play him earlier, then we didn't have money to match what hawthorn was willing to offer him when the time came. I'm sure the swans would have structured some deal over time, but that isn't what he wanted.
I think the most illuminating thing was when he basically auctioned himself off between us and GWS in his draft year. He eventually chose us because we offered the most as a sign on fee. That was the way he operated from day one (and let's face it, he has the right to), but his motivator was NEVER club loyalty.

 

[bloodsbigot]

Decent player but will always have the mercenary and accumulator tag hanging over him. Not that he would care as he got his money, won a premiership and a Brownlow. But ultimately he will be quickly forgotten. Who knows what his career would have looked like if he chose to to stay a few more years at the swans for less money.

 

[tombomb]

A very good player who I think Horse chronically underrated.

But his retirement interviews do solidify this vague feeling I have that he was a somewhat high-maintenance type.

Did Longmire underrate him or did he decide he wasn't worth it for other reasons?

Probably a bit of both imo.

 

[RUNVS]

Did Longmire underrate him or did he decide he wasn't worth it for other reasons?

Probably a bit of both imo.

Well the fact that Mitchell was constantly getting 50+ disposals in the reserves and could not break into the main team suggests Longmire was not a massive fan of his.

Even when he made it into the team he was basically made into a tagger.

 

[robbieando]

Also it should be stated that Longmire did not have any say in how much players were offered amount wise for their contracts.

That decision is down to the CEO and the Head of Football. But we can’t blame Andrew Ireland for “lowballing” on here can we.