Full Sweat: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell delivers brutal pre-season warning to his players

‘That team loses every f***ing game, I promise you’ – a behind-the-scenes documentary has highlighted the ruthless side of Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell over summer.

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A relentless Sam Mitchell warned his Hawthorn players during a recent match simulation that if they displayed ‘tired’ body language, it would likely cost them a spot in the HokBall 2.0 side this season.

In a sign the Hawks coach will push even harder this season as the club looks to go beyond its semi-final berth from last year, Mitchell told his assistant coaches that he wouldn’t tolerate his players showing signs of tiredness during matches.

Vision from Channel 7’s documentary Full Sweat on the Hawks’ preseason campaign, which aired on Wednesday night, showed Mitchell pause one session to make his point to the coaches, as well as detail his frustrations to the players in a later meeting.

“If they look tired, we’ll play with 16 (players) … get the f*** off,” a terse Mitchell told his coaches as part of the preparations for Hawthorn’s 2025 season, which starts with the season-opening clash with Sydney at the SCG on Friday night.

“The technical, tactical (side) I will leave to you (coaches), the thing I am not liking is the body language (of the players). As soon as they go ‘I’m tired’, they need to go ‘imagine what the other side is feeling’. I don’t want us looking tired.”

Mitchell later explained his edict to the players as he showed vision of the session.

“If you are not on the screen, just watch anyone,” he said. “That team (with tired body language) loses every f***ing game, I promise you … every game you play.

“You can be tired, you can’t look tired.”

WATCH THE VIDEO IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

Sam Mitchell wasn’t all smiles over summer. Picture: Michael Klein

In another key moment of the Full Sweat documentary, boom Hawthorn recruit Tom Barrass admitted he hadn’t felt satisfied in his life before his trade east, and detailed how he took a long time to adapt to the Hawks’ defensive patterns.

“I think Nadia (Barrass’ wife) knew that I wasn’t satisfied in my life and so she has been nothing but supportive,” he said.

“We got married (earlier this year) … and for us it really solidified these decisions we made three or four years ago of becoming a family.”

Hawthorn chief executive Ash Klein said on SEN the club hoped the documentary would give its fans an insight into the hard-work and preparation that goes into an AFL preseason.

“We had a bit of a conversation around the football club (about whether to proceed with the Channel 7 documentary) … where we spoke to Sam and our GM of footy Rob McCartney, we spoke to our leaders and even our high performance guys,” he said.

“We’ve had a pretty open and transparent focus over the last couple of years … within the four walls of our club we want to take our members on a pretty good journey.”

Klein also said the Hawks would invite four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson to the 10th anniversary of the club’s 2013-2015 flag threepeat later this season.

Clarkson, the current North Melbourne coach, hasn’t been back to the Hawks in recent years, having called the club’s behaviour “shameful” over its handling of the now-resolved racism saga.

Tom Barrass took time to fit into Hawthorn’s structure. Picture: David Crosling

Alastair Clarkson will be invited to the club’s 2015 premiership reunion. Picture: Michael Klein

Asked if the Hawks planned to re-embrace Clarkson, Klein said: “We have a three-peat reunion this year and Clarko will certainly be invited, as will all the players from that amazing era.”

“We’ve always embraced Clarko. He has obviously been an unbelievable servant to the club, so the door is always open for him.

“He is obviously at another club (the Kangaroos) at the moment just down the road. We have never closed the door; we have always had an open door with all of our players and coaches over time.

“We are celebrating 100 years (in 2025) and we celebrated that at the start of the year by inviting all of our former players and administrators back to the club.

“We had a huge day and a huge turnout for it.”

Klein said the Hawks would consider retaining a playing presence in Launceston even when the Tassie Devils start in the AFL competition as early as 2028.

Hawthorn signed a new two-year deal last month to host four home matches per season in Launceston until at least the end of the 2027 season.

“I don’t think there is any other state in the country where it isn’t shared between a couple of teams,” Klein said.

“I know there are more (teams) in Melbourne and Victoria than any other (state).

“We have been there (in Tasmania) for 25 years, it will be longer than that when we finish our next contract as well.

“We have such a connection with Launceston. We are really keen to see that continue down the track, but we haven’t had that conversation at the moment.”

Originally published as Full Sweat: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell delivers brutal pre-season warning to his players