“You can’t replace Tom Mitchell.”
It is a simple but telling quote from a man who would know: Sam Mitchell.
Since the reigning Brownlow Medallist tragically injured his leg just over a month ago, so much of the speculation surrounding Hawthorn’s 2019 campaign has revolved around who the star midfielder’s substitute could be.
The reality is Tom Mitchell has had more disposals than any other player in the history of the game in both of his last two seasons.
Read: Midfielders primed - O'Meara
The Peter Crimmins Medallist of each of the past two years, the former Swan has catapulted his name into the superstar bracket of the competition since joining the brown and gold at the end of the 2016 season.
“He is a pretty unique player and has been one of the best players in the competition over the last few years,” Sam Mitchell said.
“So, we’re not looking to replace Tom Mitchell - what we’re trying to do is create a midfield group that can grow together and build together and build something where it will be greater than the sum of the parts.
“Not having him means that we still get his brains and his input but unfortunately we don’t have him on the field.”
Mitchell believes the challenge of discovering a way to navigate through the 25-year-old’s absence is an exciting one.
The likes of James Worpel, James Cousins and Harry Jones have been those touted as ready to step up into what will be a new-look Hawthorn midfield.
“The challenge for us is going to be, from tonight, working out who played the best in that role.
“Getting exposure from a lot of different players was a real positive to come out of tonight.
“Intraclubs are always a bit frustrating for players and coaches - but we got through pretty injury-free, which is nice.
“We’ve done a lot of work over the summer, changing some parts of our game and developing other parts of the game so being able to get it all out there was great and now we’re looking forward to playing some opposition in the next step.”
The Hawks will now turn their attention to next Thursday night when they will take on Carlton in a practice match next Thursday at Ikon Park.
Read here for further details on next week’s practice match.
