With three sleeps to go until the Hawks kick off their season against Collingwood at the MCG, hawthornfc.com.au dives into the three things Hawks fans will hoping to see in season 2018 from reigning Peter Crimmins Medallist – and number three – Tom Mitchell.

30-plus disposal trend

Mitchell averaged more disposals than any other player in the competition last season with an enormous 35.8 per game and currently also holds the highest career-average for disposals of any player to play the game with 27.83, just ahead of Collingwood counterpart Adam Treloar. Mitchell last year claimed the record for the most-ever disposals in a home and away season with 787, including a career-best 50-disposal effort against the Pies in Round 9, and fans will be hoping he can continue his ball-winning form both on Friday night and throughout the season.

High tackling numbers

While it may come as a surprise to some, Mitchell was just as effective for the Hawks defensively as he was at winning the ball last year. The 24-year-old was the Hawks’ most prolific tackler last season, laying 143 – an average of 6.5 a game – to finish the AFL’s ninth-best in 2017, with fans banking on a similar output from the star midfielder again this time around.

Combination with Jaeger O’Meara

After only managing six appearances in the brown and gold in 2017, Jaeger O’Meara is set to feature far more heavily this season for the Hawks, with fans hoping he and Mitchell can form a damaging partnership through the middle of the ground. After both arrived at the club ahead of last season, the pair will look to give the Hawks plenty of drive both in and outside of the contest, with the injection of O’Meara into the Hawks midfield also likely to take some of the opposition heat off Mitchell, as he looks to improve on his third-place finish in last year’s Brownlow.