Luke Parker Injury Update

[TheMailman]

Doubt Mitchell would come in at all, or for very long.

There's still a pecking order in the reserves and he might not be first

Fark Mailman, let us get our hopes up :<(

lolnope :)

[Football Factory]

Doubt Mitchell would come in at all, or for very long.

There's still a pecking order in the reserves and he might not be first

Fark Mailman, let us get our hopes up :<(

lolnope :)

I reckon he's a chance of getting a game




THE statistics hit you right between the eyes.

Forty-two disposals, six marks and a goal. All in only 70 minutes - little more than a half of football.

These are the stunning numbers Champion Data last weekend credited to Tom Mitchell, the 18-year-old son of Barry, in his third game for the Swans reserves in the North East Australian Football League.

Included in the haul was 21 contested possessions and 13 clearances, equating to a monster 174 SuperCoach points.

Of course, the newly-created NEAFL isn't exactly the MCG in the opening 10 minutes of a Grand Final. In fact, Swans reserves coach Jared Crouch deemed it "about 20 or 30 steps down'' from AFL standard.

But the stats don't lie, particularly when they're gathered by a highly rated midfielder who has suffered from an almost non-existent pre-season because of knee tendinitis.

Barry Mitchell, who was inducted to the Swans Hall of Fame this year and is working for the club as a Melbourne-based opposition scout, said his son was focused on what he wanted to achieve.

"He's going well and the Swans have been really good with him,'' Mitchell said.

"Obviously, when you're injured it's difficult, particularly when you start at a new club, but they've handled him well and he's happy and he's looking forward to just playing more footy.

"I mean, when you first recruit young players, which obviously he is one, it's not about the first year, it's about their development as a player and hopefully that continues regardless of where he plays.''

In Mitchell's first two games this year he accumulated 16 touches in 30 minutes and then 18 in 45 minutes before last week's standout performance.

A member of the AIS-AFL Academy, Mitchell was touted as a hard-working, contested ball and clearance king in the lead up to last year's draft. The left-footer amassed huge possession tallies throughout his junior career in Western Australia.

Many observers claimed the No.21 father-son selection would have been a top 10 pick if available to the field.

But despite the excitement generated from his first three appearances in red and white, Crouch said Mitchell still had plenty of work to do.

"His pre-season was very restricted. He's nowhere near the match fitness required for senior football,'' Crouch said.

"You then put them on a program to slowly build fitness, but unfortunately you're always behind. I think we're going to see the best of Tommy in the next couple of years once he gets a pre-season or two under the belt.

"He is a footballer. We know he can find the football. While he's found it he certainly has a few areas of his game to work on at the moment, but he's a good listener and he's prepared to do that.'

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/sydney-swans-ball-magnet-tom-mitchell-just-warming-up/story-e6frepf6-1226366961316

[TheMailman]

From that article I would say it backs my thesis rather than rebuts it  :-X