Universal Love Welcome back Sam Mitchell! Signs as an assistant coach for three years

May 10, 2007
24,080
30,209
Bonbeach
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Arsenal Fc Portland Trailblazers
Anyone that thinks Bruest performs well in the midfield is seriously deluded. I know this as I was a massive advocate for giving it a go a couple years back thinking that with all his attributes it would be a success, but to my surprise punky looked rather lost when sent into the midfield.
 

StillAtLarge

Norm Smith Medallist
May 12, 2015
9,933
18,918
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Anyone that thinks Bruest performs well in the midfield is seriously deluded. I know this as I was a massive advocate for giving it a go a couple years back thinking that with all his attributes it would be a success, but to my surprise punky looked rather lost when sent into the midfield.
He can win the odd clearance but yes, he's a very limited player when rolling through the guts. Doesn't have much positional awareness and loses those clean, one touch gathers and distribution he's renowned for up forward
 
Breust is a far better forward than he is a midfielder. He's not a "bad" midfielder, just a far better forward. We're going to get better output from him as a forward.

Wingard is another great forward, but recent history (ie. late 2018) indicates he might just be as good (if not better) as a midfielder.

Hence if both are playing up in the forward 50 and the need arises for one of them to go into the middle then all other things being equal Wingard will be moved into the middle before Breust.

You make the moves that are going to give you the best net result.
 

Leeda

Talents B Sharp
Suspended
Sep 26, 2012
9,443
1,622
AFL Club
Hawthorn
I have a lot of Sam love.. he is a dude who knows things... and a lot of history for myself that isn't worthy of speculation...

just know that sometimes history and legend means things that some one doesn't always know about..
 
This.

50 goal forwards don’t grow on trees.
this is the bit that gets ignored with the turn him into a mid/trade him crowd

he's a gun at what he does

doesn't mean he couldn't be a gun in another role, but who would replace him?

It's about the best team for Clarko, as it should be for us. Punky gets played where we need him
 
It is funny given how well Breusty reads the fall of the ball and gets into the clear that we haven't somehow manufactured a way of getting the ball to him charging into space from the centre square. Surely some sort of set play can be concocted to take advantage of timing.
 
It is funny given how well Breusty reads the fall of the ball and gets into the clear that we haven't somehow manufactured a way of getting the ball to him charging into space from the centre square. Surely some sort of set play can be concocted to take advantage of timing.
Requires the ruckman to win the tap, the rover to win the ball, a clean disposal & for Brooster to be in space.

That's a lot of variables & if/when it does work, Brooster (by default) then isn't in the forwardline to receive/profit from the clearance.

I can see why we put him in there for 5x centre bounces per game, but I reckon that's the limit to his effectiveness & after that, it costs us.
 
Watched Sam work with a small select group Fri . The drill and that he was asking from them was simple ....yet so effective.
A skill we took very much for granted with Sam .....yet so foreign to players .
The improvements our mids will gain from Sam will be subtle be so so effective.
 
Aug 16, 2009
9,822
22,220
Right behind you!
AFL Club
Hawthorn
It is funny given how well Breusty reads the fall of the ball and gets into the clear that we haven't somehow manufactured a way of getting the ball to him charging into space from the centre square. Surely some sort of set play can be concocted to take advantage of timing.
It’s more to do with his defensive work (or lack there of) as a mid for mine

Anyway, he is the best small forward in the AFL, let’s keep him there!
 
Feb 11, 2004
2,436
6,439
I'm Liv'n in the 70's
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Box Hill , BulleenTemp.
Dare I shoot Bambi - but one of the better small forwards in the competition was completely shut down throughout the 2018 finals series.
The word ineffective springs to mind.
Defenders blanketed him and gave him little or no space to work.
Couple that with some poor (highly pressure) midfield delivery and there was no plan B for him.

Just saying.

Back to topic - Perhaps Sam could improve him as a mid.
 
Jan 17, 2008
29,053
59,119
Brisvegas
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Dare I shoot Bambi - but one of the better small forwards in the competition was completely shut down throughout the 2018 finals series.
The word ineffective springs to mind.
Defenders blanketed him and gave him little or no space to work.
Couple that with some poor (highly pressure) midfield delivery and there was no plan B for him.

Just saying.

Back to topic - Perhaps Sam could improve him as a mid.
Given how much our midfield struggled I felt we should have moved him up the ground a bit. Oh well in Sam we trust :)
 
It’s more to do with his defensive work (or lack there of) as a mid for mine

Anyway, he is the best small forward in the AFL, let’s keep him there!
But surely against s**t sides we can work out a hit zone that he runs into at a stoppage. Just feel like he can give us another option in the middle which is super offensive and a roll the dice option if we are down and need a clearance.
 
Watched the 2015 grand final recall on Fox tonight. Given that Sammy has come back this year focused on him a fair bit ...... his comments and insight about that game and on specific pieces of play throughout the documentary was fantastic. He will be a great coach!


That was great viewing.

Especially the part with Cyril and the goal Roughie took off him!
 

matey

Premiership Player
Oct 5, 2004
4,973
8,475
Melbourne
AFL Club
Hawthorn
That was great viewing.

Especially the part with Cyril and the goal Roughie took off him!

Yes while the boys were joking around a bit saying that Roughy should have let it through Sammy emphasised how unselfish a player Cyril was from the pressure and goal assists he brought to the team. Sammy is a Clarko MkII in the making, like Clarko he lives and breathes footy.
 
Last edited:
Back