Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has outlined how Tom Mitchell’s 54-disposal performance has been “overblown.”
Mitchell set an AFL record for most disposals in the win over the Magpies, but Buckley believes that wasn’t the defining factor in the contest.
“He was best on ground, let’s be clear, but it has been overblown about how significant his performance was in the result because there were so many things we were in control of that we didn’t get done, that didn’t get the result,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“In the last quarter, Tom Mitchell had 17 touches but we went inside 50 19 times to 9.
“If you extrapolate that out, Tom Mitchell has 76 touches and we have 80 inside 50’s to 40. I would take that.
“Let’s not get caught up in how many touches a bloke gets.”
After Mitchell also had 50-plus touches in the same fixture last season, many have questioned Buckley’s decision not to tag the Hawks midfielder.
However, Collingwood’s coach says they did send players to man Mitchell at times, but the role wasn’t performed at an adequate level.
“We sent a player to him in the last 10 minutes of the second quarter and it didn’t happen and didn’t get done,” Buckley said.
“The diligence to perform that role wasn’t up to standard."
However, there was a moment where the Pies were able to nullify Mitchell's impact.
“We sent Steele Sidebottom to him in the third quarter and in the first 15 minutes, Steele had six touches and Mitchell had five of that third quarter," Buckley said.
