RESTED MITCHELL GETS BOUNCE BACK
HAWTHORN will welcome a “more vibrant” Tom Mitchell back into the team – and the centre bounce – against Brisbane on Sunday after he struggled with his health for several weeks.
The Hawks finally pulled the trigger and gave the 2018 Brownlow medallist last week off to recover fully after he amassed a modest 14 disposals in a loss to Essendon a fortnight ago.
Changkuoth Jiath (hamstring) is also expected to return against the Lions in Launceston after missing the past month but they will lose Jack Gunston (ankle).
Mitchell is still averaging a robust 26 disposals this season, but first-year coach Sam Mitchell has used his talents more often up forward, despite Hawthorn being the AFL’s worst centre bounce team.
“He got sick, then he didn’t really get over it, then he played and then he went back into another hole after that, so he just hasn’t been his normal, energetic self,” coach Mitchell said.
“Normally, he’s running around like a lunatic and always doing extras, but he was just struggling with fatigue and trying to get through week-to-week, so it was a good idea to give him that circuit-breaker. “We just had a meeting on planning around centre bounces and he’s up there presenting and the energy in him has already changed, so I’m really hopeful he’ll put in a strong performance this week.”
Asked if the midfield star’s more varied role in 2022 owed to his health battle, Mitchell said the Hawks centre-bounce woes meant he was “making a lot of changes”.