In brief
AFL matches: 24
Disposals per game: 31.2
Kicks per game: 15.6
Handballs per game: 15.6
Uncontested possessions per game: 20.3
Contested possessions per game: 11.3
Clearances per game: 5.4
Inside 50s per game: 3.9
Marks per game: 4.1
Tackles per game: 3.8
Goals: 6
Review
THERE’S a strong case to mount for 2015 being Sam Mitchell’s best AFL season to date.
A four-time Peter Crimmins Medallist, three-time premiership player and dual All Australian at the start of the year, Mitchell has achieved plenty since finding his way to Hawthorn in the 2001 AFL Draft.
This year, Mitchell added a fourth premiership and third All Australian selection to his lengthy list of achievements, and finished behind just Josh Gibson and Cyril Rioli in the Peter Crimmins Medal count.
The 33-year-old midfielder was as prolific as ever, as his side won its third consecutive flag.
Averaging 31.2 disposals across his 24 matches, Mitchell found more of the ball than any other player in the competition.
His tally of 748 disposals was more than in any of his previous 13 AFL seasons.
Mitchell was able to find the ball in close – averaging 5.4 clearances and 11.3 contested possessions per game – and on the outside – averaging 20.3 uncontested possessions per game.
On 16 occasions – including the last fives games of the season – Mitchell tallied 30 or more disposals. Thirteen of those matches resulted in wins.
It was his ability not just to find the ball, but to use it effectively to set up play and bring teammates into the game, which ensured Mitchell remained one of the competition’s elite onballers this season.
He was extremely influential in wins against top four sides Fremantle (39 disposals) in Round 15, and West Coast Eagles (36 disposals) in Round 19, among of host of strong home-and-away performances.
But the experienced ball winner saved his best for last, compiling a complete finals series.
Mitchell was the standout in the Hawks’ qualifying final loss to the Eagles, maintaining his elite form in wins against Adelaide Crows, the Dockers, and the Eagles on the last day of the season.
After collecting a record-breaking 137 disposals across four matches during the finals, Mitchell was named the club’s Best Player in Finals. He also won a host of other awards at the Peter Crimmins Medal count, including the Fans MVP Award, the Confreres Player of the Year award and the Hawks Cheersquad Player of the Year award.
Polling 26 votes in the 2015 Brownlow Medal, Mitchell finished in the top three vote-getters for the third time in his career.
But if you think he is satisfied with what he and his team have achieved in recent years, think again.
Mitchell made that clear when he travelled to New York and Ireland with Australia’s International Rules team post-season.
"You can never master this game. This game is always the master and I am just trying to keep up with it," Mitchell said.
GM - Football Operations Chris Fagan says...
“He’s one of Hawthorn’s greatest ever players and one of the great players to have ever played the game, Sam Mitchell,” Fagan said.
“He had a very consistent year, which was probably topped off by his performance in the finals, where he broke all sorts of records for the amount of possessions gathered in a finals series.
“He was quite rightly the winner of our Best Finals Player award, he had a huge influence in September and in the grand final.
“He seems to get better with age.”
In the news
VIDEO: Ask a Hawk: Mitchell
NEWS: Ask Mitch: Sam Mitchell’s Twitter Takeover
NEWS: Third place for Mitchell at Peter Crimmins Medal
