Magpie tagger a real ‘Banger’

GLENORCHY has uncovered a new specialist tagger in teenager Ryan Banks-Smith as the Magpies look to consolidate their form renaissance against Clarence at Blundstone Arena on Saturday.

The hammer-hard Banks-Smith — “Banger” to his teammates — endeared himself to coach Paul Kennedy over the past two rounds for influential roles on two of the TSL’s best on-ballers.

Banks-Smith played a key role in Glenorchy’s win over North Hobart in a cracking contest at North Hobart Oval on Saturday, “minding” the Demons’ former Greater Western Sydney Giant, Sam Darley.

Darley had his share of the footy but Kennedy was full of praise for his tagging apprentice.

“He was fantastic,” Kennedy said. “When he came back from the state program last year he probably wasn’t ready to play onball in the TSL.

“We put him on a wing to allow him to learn the game — learn the way it is played and use his workrate. And he has been really good for us on the wing this year.

“But we’ve got a number of midfielders out and we needed someone to step up and give us hard run, physicality inside, and smart ball-use.

“It is a real credit to him the way he has worked on his game and that he gave us all three of those against North Hobart.”

A week earlier Banks-Smith was sent to Launceston’s onball brute Jobi Harper.

“He did a pretty solid job on Jobi and then he played on Sam Darley and did an outstanding job — they are two really good football players,” Kennedy said.

“We love the way he goes about it and we are keen to help him keep developing into a really good senior player.”

Glenorchy is fighting for third spot against in-form Launceston, which plays North Hobart at North Hobart Oval, while Lauderdale has the Tigers at Lauderdale Oval. BROWNLOW medallist Tom Mitchell will be a Hawk for at least the next four seasons after signing a two-year contract extension.

The 26-year-old, who is set to miss the entire 2019 campaign because of a broken leg, will remain with the club until at least the end of 2023.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson conceded after Sunday’s win against Geelong Mitchell was unlikely to play this year, regardless of whether the club reaches finals.

But the ball magnet said he had been buoyed by the show of support from the club.

“I’m looking forward to repaying the faith and hopefully playing some good footy,” Mitchell told the club website.

“Rehab can be a bit of a lonely place at times, but I feel like I’m on the mend and recovering really well.

“When the time comes to return to play I think I’ll be ready to go.”

Mitchell said he was determined to add to Hawthorn’s recent history of premiership success upon his return.

“He’s such a valuable player for us, and we see him playing an important role for a long time to come,” Hawks general manager of football Graham Wright said.