Hawks coach backs struggling pair

HAWTHORN coach Sam Mitchell has defended the “influence” of senior players Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara despite reduced midfield minutes for both among significant changes to the on-ball brigade.

The Hawks will regain key forward Mitch Lewis from injury for Saturday’s clash with Richmond, and Chad Wingard has overcome the illness that forced him to miss what would have been his 200th game last week against Essendon.

But the spotlight has been placed on Tom Mitchell, the 2018 Brownlow medallist who picked up a season-low 14 disposals in last week’s final-quarter surrender to the Bombers, as he adjusts to life away from the midfield.

Mitchell’s numbers have been on a downward trend in 2022, averaging 10 disposals less per game than in 2021, as he plays more time forward, while O’Meara is averaging a career-low 20.3 disposals this season as he too spends less time at centre bounces.

The Hawks have slumped to a 3-5 record and Mitchell said the new roles for his veteran pair were part of his new midfield being a “work in progress”. But he said talk of trading out either Mitchell or O’Meara, who has captained the Hawks in the absence of Ben McEvoy, at season’s end, was the “furthest thing from my mind”.