Tom Mitchell was on holiday, but relaxing he was not.
Constantly refreshing his phone last October to see the latest trade updates, the midfielder began to stress that his move to Collingwood might not come to fruition.
But as he sat in the 29-degree Miami sun, the photoshopped image of him in black and white stripes finally popped up.
“I remember the day; it was actually a night, and I was in Miami in America with a couple of good friends and we were watching the last moments of the trade period and my trade went down to the wire,” he said.
“I think I was the last trade of the trade period and there was about one minute left, and it almost didn’t get done.
“I remember I was with my mates and when the trade went through we all just jumped on each other.
“I was obviously on the other side of the world, but my phone blew up and I was just pumped to start a new journey and start a new chapter and 12 months later it was the best thing I ever did.”
The hard work started immediately once Mitchell arrived back in Australia, with the 30-year-old struck by how many players were already back on the track.
“I remember coming in throughout the off-season there was so many guys already in training and stuff like that,” he said.
“I remember meeting Bruzzy for the first time, Nick Daicos and I think Quaynor was in here as well, so I became familiar with a few faces early.
“We just started chatting and thought it’d be a good idea to start training together as well.
“Those weekly sessions pretty much started straight away as soon as I touched back in Australia and more and more guys jumped on.
“A couple of sessions there we pretty much had the whole squad training together in the off-season which just doesn’t happen so it was pretty awesome to see everyone’s commitment.”
Despite coming into the Club as a Brownlow medallist and multiple Best and Fairest winner, Mitchell knew there would be a more specific role to play at the Pies.
Happy to oblige, Mitchell’s contested ball winning ability stood out as his key attribute, especially on Grand Final day.
“I’ve had years at other clubs where I’ve been at the top of my game and been one of the best players in the competition but my job here was very different,” he says.
“I fully bought into that and tried to support all the other guys in the midfield as best as I could with my strengths and I’m very pleased to say that I did that.
“I played on a good friend of mine Lachie Neale and that was the job that I wanted on the day, and I tackled and won the ball around clearance and just did my job really.
“It’s always nice to hear that my teammates thought that because at the end of the day that’s who you’re playing for, you’re playing for the fan base and coaches but ultimately you want to do the job for your teammates.
“You want them to look at you and trust you and vice versa so I’m very proud of that.
“Statistically I’ve had much bigger games but in terms of execution it was a very efficient game – I felt like I used the ball really well by foot and hand. Being a Grand Final, it would be somewhere up there.”
Tom Mitchell’s 2023 achievements
- Ranked #1 in the AFL for handballs
- Ranked #1 at Collingwood for tackles
- Ranked #1 at Collingwood for clearances
- Ranked #1 at Collingwood for contested possessions
- Ranked = #2 at Collingwood for disposals
- Ranked #8 in the AFL for tackles
- Played every game in season 2023
