Luke Parker hopes Tom Mitchell won’t request trade away from Sydney Swans

SYDNEY co-captain Kieren Jack turned heads with an unusual approach to Sydney’s Mad Monday dress-up. But there was a good reason behind it.

DRESS ups on Mad Monday are getting more and more obscure and the Swans’ Grand Final liquid debrief was no exception.

On the face of it Kieren Jack dressing as Jobe Watson could be seen as taking a shot at the Essendon captain but the reality was something different.

With Ted Richards’ time at the Swans at an end Jack thought he would provide a friendly and familiar face with Watson. Richards and the Essendon skipper are best mates from school days at Xavier College in Melbourne. They also had a couple of years playing together at the Bombers before the full back moved north to Sydney.

Tom Mitchell also made a statement wearing a club-issue Swans T-shirt, which could easily be interpreted as an expression of his desire to stay in the red and white.

Mitchell has been strongly linked to Hawthorn who has been reported to have offered significantly more — $100,000 per year — than Sydney’s proposed deal.

Kieren Jack dress up as Bomber Jobe Watson for Sydney’s mad Monday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The midfielder was one of the Swans best in Saturday’s losing Grand Final, kicking two goals, making 13 tackles and picking up 26 disposals in the 22-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Fellow midfielder Luke Parker said he hoped Mitchell and the Swans could come to terms.

“I hope he stays,” Parker said.

“He and the club will sort it out in the next few weeks or so. He’s been a massive contributor and a big reason why we’ve been successful this year. All those young blokes coming through are taking things to another level and Tommy is getting better every year.”

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Parker was also one of the Swans better players on the day and said while the disappointment was stinging his team would come back hard again next season.

“It’s so disappointing,” Parker said.

“It’s such a long year and you put in so much effort over the pre-season and to have the opportunity to win it and not take is shattering.

Tom Mitchell was one of Sydney’s best in the Grand Final. Picture: Tim Carrafa

“We move on, we look to improve and hopefully we get the opportunity, we’ve shown our best is very competitive. It’s more the consistency of having a high standard every week and the same mindset.”

Parker and the senior Swans players will now take a well-earned eight week break and return for pre-season training in early December.

“We didn’t finish the way we wanted but we’ll enjoy the off-season and reset for next year,” Parker said.

Originally published as Luke Parker hopes Tom Mitchell won’t request trade away from Sydney Swans