AFL Trades 2022: Sam Mitchell’s message to members after trading out Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara and Jack Gunston
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has defended the club’s exodus of senior talent and has a message for those who think the Hawks are destined for a period in the doldrums.
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Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has declared the departures of Jack Gunston, Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell will help fast-track the club’s plans to secure a 14th premiership.
In a letter to members released on Friday, the first-year coach pointed to the Hawks fielding more players aged 23 and under than any other club as a sign they were building a core nucleus for the next flag assault.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE FULL LETTER
It comes as Hawthorn lawyers offered to mediate with the Indigenous players and families caught up in the racism probe in a move which could pave the way for public apologies and financial payouts.
Mitchell severed most ties with the Alastair Clarkson era in the dramatic trade period, with Luke Breust the only 2015 premiership player remaining on the list.
Club legend Dermott Brereton said six wins in 2023 would be a good result despite winning eight matches this season.
But Mitchell was certain the long-term path the Hawks are on was the right one, despite forecasting some “ups and downs” in 2023.
“This year we averaged fielding more players aged 23 and under per game than any other AFL club. What we are seeing is a group of players come through our program together and look to be part of our next premiership team,” Mitchell said.
“We must stick to our plan. We spent a long time building a strategy to bring us our next premiership and personally, I am very pleased with our progress 12 months in.
“Part of this strategy was a commitment to invest in the development of our younger players and embed a game style that will withstand the pressure of finals footy when our time comes.
“Last year you saw the first stages of this. The emergence of (Jai) Newcombe, (Mitchell) Lewis, (Ned) Reeves and (Dylan) Moore were the first externally noticeable signs of the direction we are heading.
“This year’s free agency and trade period was the next step in a longer plan to develop our list and return to premiership contention.
“To be honest - we don’t get there if we follow the path of least resistance.
“This is about building our next phase of talent. I have no interest (and I know the players feel the same), to just sneak into the finals. Internally we are working on building premiership standards because only then can we become a premiership team.
“Premiership teams are not built overnight, we want to be in a position where we are competing to win it all when our time comes – whenever that may be.
“Bringing in Karl Amon, Lloyd Meek and Cooper Stephens is an important part of that process. So too was strengthening our selections for the upcoming draft.
“Getting the best young talent to the club also remains a priority.
“We are in a very positive position heading into next month, with picks 6, 24, 41, 48, 50, 52, 65. We also gained additional second-round and fourth-round selections for 2023.”
Mitchell rejected the theory the Hawks had discarded too much leadership and experience in one drastic hit.
“A lot of people may say, well you are losing some of your older players and experience. Well, my response to that would be: your age doesn’t define your ability to lead,” he said.
“We have known for some time we would need to find our next wave of future leaders at our club, and that is why over the past 12 months we have spent a significant amount of our focus on this.
“Our flattened leadership structure over the last 12 months is what gives us such confidence that our current group are the right players to drive us forward. Their growth, passion and speed of development has been first class.
“James Sicily (who captained the club for much of the year), Dylan Moore, Blake Hardwick, Jarman Impey and Mitch Lewis have really spent the last year learning to lead this football club under the important guidance of Ben McEvoy.
“Alongside seasoned players like Luke Breust, Sam Frost, and Chad Wingard, I see us being well prepared for season 2023.
“There will be ups and downs, as there is with any season. I am very confident that the strategy laid out before all of us as Hawthorn members, is the right one and I for one am damn excited for this next phase.”
Clarko mistakes which left Mitchell with mess to clean up
Alastair Clarkson reloaded Hawthorn’s gun in 2016 and after firing blanks for six years Sam Mitchell finally threw out the bullets on Wednesday night.
In 2016 Clarkson’s Hawks sold their future for Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara, and also signed Ty Vickery as a free agent as club champions Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis were encouraged out the door.
Clarkson stood at Crown Palladium dais on the eve of that trade period and issued a warning to rival clubs.
“We’re ready to reload,” he said at Hawthorn’s best-and-fairest.
“I know the footy world out there are saying, ‘2016, thank god Hawthorn didn’t win it’. We’re saying, ‘Get ready – we’re coming again in 2017.”
“Wrighty, (then-list manager Graham Wright) get to work, lad. You’ve got some important stuff to do over the next couple of weeks.”
Wright got to work, securing trades for O’Meara and Mitchell, and on Wednesday night Wright – this time wearing a Collingwood polo – got to work again to secure Mitchell’s trade to the Magpies.
At 7.28pm, two minutes before deadline, O’Meara was offloaded to Fremantle. Mitchell won the 2018 Brownlow Medal while O’Meara captained the club this season. It seemed genius, but in hindsight it’s impossible to say the 2016 top-up worked.
As Geelong coach Chris Scott said that year: “If you get it wrong and you pivot in the wrong direction, it can be disastrous”.
The Hawks gave up Bradley Hill, picks 14, 36 and their future first-round and second-round picks to land O’Meara and Mitchell.
The Swans were able to turn pick 14 into Oliver Florent and Will Hayward while in 2017 Aaron Naughton, Zac Bailey and Noah Balta were available at the Hawks’ first pick and Liam Ryan, Sam Taylor, Tom De Koning, Bayley Fritsch and Tom McCartin were available at their second.
But by that stage Clarkson didn’t rate the draft.
“For some clubs, Grand Final day is towards the end of November,” he quipped.
“That’s because they’ve got all these high draft picks. But that’s never been our go.”
Since Hawthorn’s last finals victory Richmond has won 10 finals, Geelong nine, Western Bulldogs and GWS seven, Melbourne, West Coast, Sydney and Collingwood five, Adelaide and Brisbane three, Port Adelaide two and Fremantle and St Kilda one.
In the past seven seasons only the Hawks, Carlton, Essendon, Gold Coast and North Melbourne have not won a final.
Club legend Dermott Brereton said six wins would be a good result next year after eight this season.
This is a complete reset to win a premiership. Luke Breust is the only player from the 2015 premiership left standing and James Sicily likely to become captain.
The path Sam Mitchell and list manager Mark Mackenzie are on is exciting, as are the three additions.
Wingman Karl Amon, 27, was the No.1 priority while Lloyd Meek, 24, is a 203cm ruckman and Cooper Stephens, 21, a big-bodied inside midfielder.
Stephens averaged 23.2 disposals and 103 SuperCoach points from nine VFL games at Geelong this year.
In 2020 North Melbourne cut too hard and regretted the lack of leftover leadership. McKenzie said that wasn’t a concern.
“This year coach Sam Mitchell flattened the leadership group, which allowed a lot of our younger guys to develop their leadership,” he said on Wednesday night.
“So that’s really taken away the age of the person in the group. We saw some leaders like Dylan Moore, Mitch Lewis, Jack Scrimshaw, CJ (emerge).”
It is now their club. As for who replaces Jaeger and Tom in the midfield? Sudden star Jai Newcombe is the obvious player to take the next step.
Behind him is Will Day, Dylan Moore, James Worpel, Stephens and maybe Conor Nash. Even Amon played midfield minutes at Port Adelaide in the first half of this season.
“We’ve made no secret that we’ve made a clear strategy of getting games into our younger guys,” Mackenzie said.
Tom Mitchell and O’Meara were 29 while Liam Shiels (retired) was 31 and Jack Gunston turns 31 on Sunday.
None of them were going to be in Sam Mitchell’s premiership team.
But Amon, Stephens, Meek, Newcombe, Scrimshaw, Lewis, CJ and Moore might be.
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