Tom Mitchell (Australian footballer)


Tom Mitchell is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2012 to 2016 and currently holds the record for the most disposals in an AFL game, which he set against the Collingwood Football Club in 2018. Mitchell was acknowledged for his record-breaking 2018 season after polling 28 votes to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal.

Personal life

Mitchell's father, Barry, was drafted from Northvale JFC in Mulgrave, Victoria and won the Bob Skilton Medal in 1991. Barry played for Sydney, Carlton and Collingwood after also being drafted alongside Warwick Capper. Tom grew up in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and attended Carey Baptist Grammar School, before relocating to Perth at 15 where he completed his schooling at Hale School. Mitchell's younger sister, Chelsea, signed on to play for Hawthorn’s VFL Women’s side in 2018.

AFL career

Sydney (2012–2016)

Mitchell was drafted to Sydney with pick 21 in the 2011 AFL draft under the father–son rule. Mitchell was not able to make his senior debut in 2012, due mainly to a slew of injuries. Whilst he did show some strong form in his few games in the reserves, this wasn't enough for him to play in a very strong senior side that would ultimately go on to win a premiership.
Mitchell made his debut in round 10, 2013 against Essendon at the SCG. He received a 2013 AFL Rising Star nomination the following week for his round 11 performance against Adelaide. During round 9 of the 2014 season, Mitchell played in the Swans reserves team and picked up a record 64 disposals. He also kicked four goals in the same game.
At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Mitchell requested a trade from Sydney and was subsequently traded to Hawthorn in October.

Hawthorn (2017–present)

Up to and including round 8 of the 2017 season, Mitchell had accumulated more disposals than any other player in the competition. He broke the VFL/AFL record for the most disposals in a home and away season in round 22 when he amassed his 749th possession, surpassing Wayne Richardson's mark set in 1971. Following a record-breaking home and away season, Mitchell was named in the All-Australian team for the first time in his career. He was runner-up to Dustin Martin in the 2017 Brownlow Medal count. Mitchell won his first Peter Crimmins Medal in that season.
In round 1 of the 2018 season on March 24, Mitchell also broke the record for the most disposals in an VFL/AFL game by amassing a total of 54 possessions. Additionally, he became the first player ever to have 50 or more disposals twice in their career. Mitchell accumulated another 50 touches in Hawthorn's round 15 loss to GWS and subsequently became the first player to have multiple 50+ disposal games in a season. His 848 disposals in 2018 surpassed Matt Crouch's season record of 825, set almost 12 months earlier.
After completing another record-breaking season, Mitchell won the 2018 Brownlow Medal. This award capped off a season where Mitchell was recognised for his efforts and ball-winning proficiency by also winning the Peter Crimmins Medal, Leigh Matthews Trophy and the Lou Richards Medal along with other media awards as well. Mitchell became the first Hawthorn player to win the Leigh Matthews Trophy since Shane Crawford in 1999. On 11 January 2019, It was announced that Mitchell would miss the entire 2019 season after suffering a broken leg during a tackling drill at training.

Statistics

VFL/AFL record
Led the league for the season only
Led the league after season and finals
Won

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2012
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2013
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2014
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2015
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2016
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2017
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2018
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2019
! colspan=3| Career
! 111 !! 61 !! 56 !! 1381 !! 1889 !! 3270 !! 471 !! 679 !! 0.5 !! 0.5 !! 12.4 !! 17.0 !! 29.5 !! 4.2 !! 6.1 || 79

Honours and achievements

Team
Individual