Hawthorn coach Alistair Clarkson has rubbished rumours star midfielder Tom Mitchell will be traded at the end of the season.
Alastair Clarkson describes report of Tom Mitchell potentially leaving the club as “garbage.” He also said they would only take one midseason draft pick four days before they took two so take it with a grain of salt.
— Daniel Cherny 📰 (@DanielCherny) June 11, 2021
The Hawks are embarking on a rebuild and will be keen to build a strong draft hand by the time the 2021 National Draft rolls around. One way to do that is to trade away some top-end talent to contending teams and securing draft picks in return.
Mitchell has been linked with a move away in recent weeks with Richmond popping up as a possible destination for the Brownlow medallist.
The Hawks smashed Sydney on Friday night to the tune of 38 points. However, that result wasn't enough to take the attention away from the rumours surrounding Mitchell.
When asked about the possibility of trading Mitchell, Clarkson labelled the reports as "garbage" and "pure speculation."
"It's just pure speculation that comes up at this time of the year with most players, whether it's Zach Merrett, Patrick Cripps (or) Tom Mitchell,” he said post-match.
"One per cent of it is true and the rest of it is garbage, so I'm taking the 99 per cent garbage."
Port Adelaide games-record holder Kane Cornes recently nominated Carlton as a club that could use Mitchell should he become available.
“I think if you put him into a midfield like Carlton to support Cripps and Walsh, that’d be ideal,” Cornes said.
Would it be in the best interest of Hawthorn and Tom Mitchell to part ways?
The Footy Classified team discuss.#9FootyClassified | Watch @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/66qwWF2zDf
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 24, 2021
“If there’s a market for Brad Crouch, Tom Mitchell’s a better player than Brad Crouch. It’s a first-round draft pick, I don’t know where that sits.”
Mitchell is contracted until the end of 2023.
