Samuel Mitchell (born 12 October 1982) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

coach and former player who is the current coach of the

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

. As a player, he played with the Hawthorn Football Club and

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

in the Australian Football League. Following his retirement in 2017, Mitchell remained with West Coast as an assistant coach in 2018. In 2019, Mitchell returned to Hawthorn as the midfield coach before becoming head of development and senior coach of Hawthorn's VFL affiliate team, the Box Hill Hawks in 2021. In July 2021, Hawthorn appointed Mitchell as the next senior coach, taking over from

Alastair Clarkson Alastair Thomas Clarkson (born 27 April 1968) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club. He was previously the head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club in the ...

at the end of the 2021 season.

Early life

A product of

Mooroolbark Mooroolbark is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mooroolbark recorded a population of 23,059 at the . ...

, in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs, Mitchell played in the under 18

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

competition with the

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leag ...

. He was the club's best and fairest player in 1999 and 2000. Disappointed at being overlooked in the 2000 draft, Mitchell joined the Box Hill Hawks. After a couple of games in the development squad he gained promotion to the seniors and completed the season as the team's number one rover. He was a member of Box Hill's premiership side in 2001.

Playing career

Hawthorn

Mitchell was recruited to the

in the AFL in the 2001 AFL draft with selection number 36. This selection was received by Hawthorn in the deal which saw

Trent Croad Trent Eric Croad (born 9 March 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). During his 222-game AFL career, he achie ...

and

Luke McPharlin Luke McPharlin (born 1 December 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Fremantle Football Club between 2002 and 2015, after two seasons with the Hawthorn Football ...

traded to Fremantle, whilst Hawthorn gained selections one (

Luke Hodge Luke Hodge (born 15 June 1984) is a former Australian rules football player who played with the Hawthorn Football Club and the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2002 to 2017, c ...

), 20 (Daniel Elstone) and number 36 (Mitchell). The first half of his debut season in 2002 saw him playing with the Box Hill Hawks, until he broke into the Hawthorn side midway through the season. Following some unimpressive performances where he never managed more than 14 disposals, he was dropped for round 15 but was recalled after more eye-catching performances in round 19. He polled 31 votes in just 11 games to win the VFL's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

award, the J. J. Liston Trophy. left, 150px, Mitchell in September 2007 In 2003 Mitchell continued to improve, winning the 2003 AFL Rising Star award and becoming known as "the Extractor" (particularly by commentator Brian Taylor) for his high amount of clearances and ability to win the ball out of middle of the ground. A solid season followed in 2004, and in 2005 he played a "super" season until a foot injury sidelined him in round 15. For the 2006 season, Mitchell was named vice-captain of Hawthorn and displayed stellar form throughout the season culminating in winning the

Peter Crimmins Medal The Peter Crimmins Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the player(s) from the Hawthorn Football Club deemed best and fairest for the season. Peter Crimmins was a rover for Hawthorn, playing from 1966 to 1975 It was also de ...

for Hawthorn's best and fairest. In 2007 he capped off another wonderful season by coming 3rd in the votes for the highest honour in Australian Football, the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

with 21 votes, 1 short of joint 2nd-place winners, North Melbourne's Brent Harvey and Brisbane's Simon Black who both polled 22 votes, and coming 8 votes behind winner of the 2007 Brownlow, Geelong's

Jimmy Bartel James Ross Bartel (born 4 December 1983) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A utility, tall and weighing , Bartel contributed as a midfielder, forward, an ...

. On 6 October 2007, during the Peter Crimmins Medal Event, he was announced as Hawthorn's next captain, taking over the reins from retiring captain Richie Vandenberg. Mitchell was ineligible for 2008's Brownlow Medal following a tripping charge in the match against

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in round nine. On Saturday, 27 September, Mitchell captained the Hawks to the 2008 premiership, the first in 17 years and the club's 10th, beating the reigning premiers,

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, by 26 points. Mitchell was reported for rough conduct against Geelong's Gary Ablett, Jr. in the second quarter, however the report was dismissed at the conclusion of the weekend. At the end of the 2010 season he handed the captaincy over to

, who was made captain of the 2010 All-Australian team. Sam Mitchell 2014

Mitchell polled 30 votes in the

2011 Brownlow Medal The 2011 Brownlow Medal was the 84th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Dane Swan of the Collingwood Football Club won the medal by p ...

, but was ineligible to win after an incident in round 5 of the season; he had the second-most votes, behind Collingwood's

Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

. In 2012, Mitchell, along with Richmond's

Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...

, both finished tied for second place in the Brownlow to

Jobe Watson Jobe Watson (born 8 February 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, w ...

. On 12 January 2016 the World Anti-Doping Agency found Watson and another 33 Essendon players guilty of taking a prohibited substance during the 2012 AFL season, an AFL commission meeting in November 2016 determined the implications for the 2012 Brownlow Medal. On 15 November 2016, Mitchell and Cotchin were both retrospectively awarded the medal, and, on 13 December 2016, both were formally presented with the Medals in a private ceremony in Melbourne. Mitchell was rewarded with the

in 2011, 2012 and 2016, and became a five-time best and fairest winner at Hawthorn, behind only

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the . Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...

who won eight during his career. Mitchell became a triple premiership player with the Hawks in season 2014, and like a swathe of his team mates his year was interrupted by a serious injury. After overcoming a serious hamstring injury that saw him miss nine weeks, it meant that Mitchell played only 16 of a possible 25 games for the Hawks, his lowest tally since 2005 when he played 14 games. Still averaging over 28 disposals per game for the season mixing between midfield and half-back, Mitchell played a critical role in Hawthorn’s back-to-back premierships and was recognised as such by being named the side’s best player in the finals series by his coaches. Averaging 31.6 disposals, 9.0 marks, 6.3 tackles and 5.6 clearances across the three games, and was unlucky not to win the Norm Smith Medal in the Grand Final after 33 disposals, nine tackles, seven clearances and a goal assist. Mitchell became a four-time premiership player with the Hawks in season 2015, with some considering it to be Sam Mitchell’s best AFL season to date in which he earned his third All Australian selection, but finished just behind Josh Gibson and Cyril Rioli in the Peter Crimmins Medal count. His disposal tally of 748 and average of 31.2 topped the AFL and represents his own peak. On 16 occasions Mitchell tallied 30 or more disposals, and collected a record-breaking 137 disposals across four matches during the finals. Mitchell was again named the club’s Best Player in Finals. Polling 26 votes in the 2015 Brownlow Medal, Mitchell finished in the top three vote-getters for the third time in his career. Mitchell played a total of 307 games and kicked a total of 67 goals for Hawthorn from 2002 until 2016.

West Coast Eagles

On 12 October 2016, news broke that Mitchell, at Hawthorn's request, was considering a move to and he was officially traded to West Coast two days later. In August 2017, he announced he would retire from the AFL at the end of the 2017 season. Sam Mitchell played the final game of his career in the semi final, where he recorded two goals and twenty-eight disposals in a 67-point loss to . Mitchell played a total of 22 games and kicked a total of 4 goals for West Coast Eagles in 2017, in his only one season at the club.

Coaching career

West Coast Eagles

Shortly after his retirement from playing, Mitchell served as an assistant coach with the

in 2018. At the conclusion of the

2018 AFL season The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

, which saw West Coast win the

AFL premiership This page is a complete chronological listing of VFL/AFL premiers. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. The inaugur ...

in the 2018 AFL Grand Final, Mitchell departed the West Coast Eagles.

Hawthorn

At the conclusion of the 2018 AFL season, Mitchell returned to

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

to serve as an assistant coach in the position of midfield coach before becoming head of development and senior coach of Hawthorn's VFL affiliate team, the Box Hill Hawks in 2021. On 6 July 2021, the Hawthorn Football Club announced that as part of a succession plan, Mitchell would succeed

as the senior coach of Hawthorn from 2023; until then, Mitchell will continue as Head of Development and as Box Hill Hawks senior coach. However, on 30 July 2021, it was announced that Clarkson would leave Hawthorn at the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season, with Mitchell immediately succeeding him.

Kneeing controversy

On 13 July 2015, Mitchell was found guilty by the AFL's match review panel of having kneed the right thigh of Fremantle Dockers player

Nathan Fyfe Nathan Fyfe (born 18 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Fremantle captain since the 2017 season. Fyfe is a dual Brown ...

during the second quarter of the previous day's game and was fined $1000 for the offence. The media then brought to light other kneeing incidents involving Mitchell, those being the kneeing of Adelaide Crows captain Taylor Walker in the round 12 game and the kneeing of Greater Western Sydney's

Ryan Griffen Ryan Leigh Griffen (born 27 July 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Griffen was born in Goolwa, a South Australi ...

in round 6 of the 2015 season. Another kneeing video incident surfaced of Mitchell kneeing North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson. The video shows Mitchell walking up to an unsuspecting Thompson and kneeing him in the left thigh. Media reports from 2008 show that an opposition club, Brisbane expressed concerns to the AFL about Sam Mitchell's kneeing of opponents.

Playing style

Mitchell is often cited as one of the most ambidextrous players in the AFL and much opinion is made about which is his preferred foot. Although some have claimed that he was originally a left footer who switched to right foot later in his junior career, Mitchell has stated that he has just always tried to use the appropriate foot for the situation. He does however switch to his left foot when he wants to kick longer. Similarly, his handpassing is equally good with either hand.

Statistics

Playing statistics

, - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , , , 28 , 9 , , 1 , , 1 , , 53 , , 48 , , 101 , , 19 , , 29 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , , 5.3 , , 11.2 , , 2.1 , , 3.2 , , 1 , - ,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, , , , 28 , 21 , , 5 , , 2 , , 199 , , 174 , , 373 , , 54 , , 89 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 9.5 , , 8.3 , , 17.8 , , 2.6 , , 4.2 , , 9 , - , 2004 , , , , 5 , 20 , , 5 , , 5 , , 210 , , 162 , , 372 , , 47 , , 60 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 8.1 , , 18.6 , , 2.4 , , 3.0 , , 2 , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , , , 5 , 14 , , 2 , , 4 , , 186 , , 157 , , 343 , , 62 , , 49 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 13.3 , , 11.2 , , 24.5 , , 4.4 , , 3.5 , , 9 , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, , , , 5 , 22 , , 3 , , 6 , , 327 , , 265 , , 592 , , 119 , , 71 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 14.9 , , 12.0 , , 26.9 , , 5.4 , , 3.2 , , 13 , - , 2007 , , , , 5 , 23 , , 2 , , 3 , , 262 , , 331 , , 593 , , 120 , , 96 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.4 , , 14.4 , , 25.8 , , 5.2 , , 4.2 , , 21 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

^# , , , , 5 , 24 , , 4 , , 2 , , 313 , , 354 , , 667 , , 90 , , 88 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 13.0 , , 14.8 , , 27.8 , , 3.8 , , 3.7 , , 15 , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , , , 5 , 22 , , 7 , , 3 , , 346 , , 308 , , 654 , , 111 , , 66 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 15.7 , , 14.0 , , 29.7 , , 5.0 , , 3.0 , , 13 , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , , 5 , 19 , , 5 , , 4 , , 282 , , 242 , , 524 , , 76 , , 90 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 14.8 , , 12.7 , , 27.6 , , 4.0 , , 4.7 , , 15 , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , , 5 , 23 , , 12 , , 8 , , 404 , , 297 , , 701 , , 94 , , 99 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 17.6 , , 12.9 , , 30.5 , , 4.1 , , 4.3 , , 30 , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , , 5 , 24 , , 7 , , 7 , , 345 , , 308 , , 653 , , 84 , , 133 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 14.4 , , 12.8 , , 27.2 , , 3.5 , , 5.5 , , bgcolor=98FB98, 26^± , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

^# , , , , 5 , 24 , , 5 , , 5 , , 371 , , 302 , , 673 , , 83 , , 78 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 15.5 , , 12.6 , , 28.0 , , 3.5 , , 3.3 , , 16 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

^# , , , , 5 , 16 , , 3 , , 3 , , 228 , , 221 , , 449 , , 78 , , 55 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 14.3 , , 13.8 , , 28.1 , , 4.9 , , 3.4 , , 8 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

^# , , , , 5 , 24 , , 6 , , 3 , , 374 , , 374 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 748^† , , 98 , , 92 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 15.6 , , 15.6 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 31.2^† , , 4.1 , , 3.8 , , 26 , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , 5 , 22 , , 0 , , 3 , , 343 , , 309 , , 652 , , 80 , , 79 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 15.6 , , 14.0 , , 29.6 , , 3.6 , , 3.6 , , 16 , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , , , 1 , 22 , , 4 , , 4 , , 260 , , 278 , , 538 , , 71 , , 64 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 13.0 , , 13.9 , , 26.9 , , 3.6 , , 3.2 , , 7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 329 !! 71 !! 63 !! 4503 !! 4130 !! 8633 !! 1286 !! 1238 !! 0.2 !! 0.2 !! 13.8 !! 12.6 !! 26.4 !! 3.9 !! 3.8 !! 227

Coaching statistics

''Updated to the end of 2022.'' , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , , 22 , , 8 , , 14 , , 0 , , 36.4% , , 13 , , 18 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=2, Career totals ! 22 !! 8 !! 14 !! 0 !! 36.4% ! colspan=2,

Honours and achievements

Team * 4× AFL premiership player ():

* 2× Minor premiership ():

* VFL premiership player (): 2001 Individual * AFL premiership captain:

* 3×

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

* Hawthorn Captain: 2008–2010 * 5×

: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016 * 2× Lethal Award: 2015, 2016 * Norwich Rising Star Award:

* J. J. Liston Trophy:

* Col Austen Trophy: 2002 * Herald Sun Player of the Year Award: 2011 * 2×

Lou Richards Medal The Lou Richards Medal is an annual Most Valuable Player award for the Australian Football League, based on votes from the '' Sunday Footy Show'' panel each week. History The Lou Richards Medal is named after former Collingwood player, Lou Ric ...

: 2011, 2015 * 2×

Australian international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Australian women's team, see Australia women's international rules football team.'' The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in Int ...

Victoria Australian rules football team The Victoria Australian rules football team, known colloquially as the Big V, is the state representative side of Victoria, Australia, in the sport of Australian rules football. The Big V has a proud history, dominating the first 100 years of ...

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee:

life member

Personal life

Mitchell married Lyndall Degenhardt in early November 2009. They have a son and twin daughters.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Sam 1982 births Living people Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club Premiership players Peter Crimmins Medal winners AFL Rising Star winners Box Hill Football Club players J. J. Liston Trophy winners Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Eastern Ranges players All-Australians (AFL) Australian people of New Zealand descent Brownlow Medal winners West Coast Eagles players Australia international rules football team players Four-time VFL/AFL Premiership players Hawthorn Football Club coaches People from Box Hill, Victoria