“Made me feel like s--t”: The “unprofessional” game review that triggered Mitchell’s Hawks departure
Collingwood premiership midfielder Tom Mitchell has looked back on his exit from Hawthorn last off-season.
The 2018 Brownlow Medallist was traded to the Magpies in the last hour of the 2022 Trade Period, but the 30-year-old says the writing was on the wall that he had to depart Waverley Park at least six months earlier.
Mitchell originally joined the Hawks from Sydney in 2017 and wanted to finish his career in the brown and gold, but he says he knew the club wanted him to leave last season as they looked to rebuild under Sam Mitchell.
The on-baller saw internal signs that he wasn’t rated by Hawthorn in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2022 campaign when the coaches rated him as their worst player in their first two games, despite him earning one Brownlow vote in each of those appearances.
"I knew my time was up at Hawthorn,” Mitchell told the Ball Magnets Podcast.
“I knew it. I probably knew that at the start of that season.
“I wanted to stay at Hawthorn for the rest of my career. I was content, happy.
“But certain things happened. I knew they wanted me out. I knew as soon as Round 1, Round 2. Some funny things happened.
“The coaches do a game-rating system out of five at Hawthorn, which they put on the walls for everyone to see after a game.
“I'm very close with all the Hawthorn players, we're very good mates.
“In Round 1, I think we played North, I was the only player in the team to get rated a one out of five. In Round 2 we had a (64-point) win against Port Adelaide away, a great team win.
“I was the only player that got rated a two out of five or less. Only player in the whole team.
“The funniest thing about both of those games was I think I got Brownlow votes in both games, so I played pretty well.
“But there were some signs there. I'm like, 'Something's going on here, this is weird'.”
Mitchell also reflected on one particular meeting where he was singled out in front of the playing group which he felt was unprofessional and unfair.
The midfielder says he knew his time at the club was, ‘Signed, sealed and delivered’, once he was made to feel embarrassed in front of all of his teammates and coaches.
“There was this one particular meeting I remember — and I don't want to come across as I'm complaining; this is more just how I was feeling and how I felt I was being made to feel,” Mitchell explained.
“There was a meeting, in particular, a game review. I chat with Dylan Moore, Finn Maginness, Will Day, these guys who are some of my good mates still. We call it the Tom Mitchell game review.
“That was the signed, sealed, delivered. I knew after that meeting, 'I'm not coming back here next year, whatever happens, I'm not coming to Hawthorn'.
“There was a game review where there was something like five or so clips of just me. There were a few that were fair, but I got barrelled in this meeting.
“All five clips, that was the meeting done, and I walked out of that thinking, 'Are you serious? This is unprofessional, unfair, made me feel like absolute shit in front of everyone', and that happened a few times."
On top of his former teammates remembering the unique game review, Mitchell says he has since spoken about it with some staffers who now work at Collingwood.
While Mitchell says he still loves the Hawks, that was the moment when he knew he couldn’t come back.
“We've got a lot of Hawthorn staff now at Collingwood,” Mitchell added.
“I was chatting to (Collingwood development coach) Andy Otten and he remembers the meeting as well.
“From that point onward, I was just thinking, 'I'm not coming back here', and I loved Hawthorn. I still do. I had a lot of great times there. But that was when I knew, 'I'm not coming back here'.”
Mitchell considers himself lucky to have been able to move from a rebuilding side to a contender in Collingwood, who immediately highlighted what he could bring to the team.
Despite feeling uneasy about his treatment at Hawthorn at the time, he understands why the club pushed out senior players and prioritised youth as they showed plenty of positive signs in 2023.
“You need a lot of luck, Collingwood wanted me, not a lot of other teams did,” Mitchell said.
“It’s been probably great for Hawthorn, a lot of the senior guys moved on and they’ve had a great year.
“For me, I’ve landed at Collingwood where I’m very lucky to be. Things happen for a reason.”
Mitchell is now a premiership player and starred in the Grand Final win over Brisbane as he collected 24 disposals, 13 tackles, seven clearances and seven score involvements.
He finished fourth in the club’s best and fairest award in his first season at Collingwood.