Tom Mitchell had 50 possessions against Collingwood but did he hurt the Pies?

IT almost seems unfair. Hawk Tom Mitchell was superb in gathering 50 possessions last night, but there’s debate about how much he hurt the Pies. HAVE YOUR SAY

Pie Adam Treloar had words with Tom Mitchell at one stage during Saturday night’s clash. Picture: Getty Images

THERE’S no doubting Hawk Tom Mitchell played a heck of a game against Collingwood.

Anyone watching couldn’t help but notice just how prolific the former Swan was — not only because commentators, as tends to be the case in this age, started calling each number as his tally mounted.

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But during the game and then more so after, debate turned to just how much influence Mitchell — the AFL’s leading disposal winner this season — had on the match.

Channel 7’s Cameron Ling wondered aloud during the match, while the two coaches were both asked about Mitchell after the game.

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Pies coach Nathan Buckley said post-match Mitchell accumulated “by stealth”.

The Hawk’s 50 possessions (22 contested) comprised 22 kicks and 28 handballs, including eight tackles, five clearances and three inside 50s. He also recorded 158 SuperCoach points.

It was the first time a Hawk had notched the half century in terms of disposals.

Impressive numbers, but Buckley said at no stage did he feel things were getting out of hand.

“He just finds a way and keeps getting to the pill, (but) if I said he wasn’t hurting us a lot, would that make sense?” Buckley said.

“If Isaac Smith had 50 (touches), you’d have 2500 metres gained. (Mitchell) was getting the ball at contests and that was great, but, on the balance of it, our midfield was getting on top and working them over.”

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When told of Buckley’s assessment, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said it was “pretty ballsy” to say Mitchell wasn’t having an influence — at least earlier in the match.

“I would have thought they were (doing damage) in the first half, because it was 10 goals to four and at quarter-time he’d had (14) disposals and we were six goals in front,” Clarkson said.

Tom Mitchell gets another handball away against the Pies. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“But the bottom line with the Collingwood side is they got a greater spread and contribution from a whole host of midfielders that probably won that battle at the end of the day.”

For the record, Herald Sun reporter Sam Edmund gave Mitchell two votes in his post-game analysis, behind Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury.

But there’ll be plenty of eyes on the coaches votes this week — and also who the umps noticed come Brownlow night.