Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has revealed the reason why NRL coach Todd Payten was in the Hawks' coaches box on Thursday night, as Payten's North Queensland Cowboys gear up for a match against the Melbourne Storm on Friday.
Payten has coached the Cowboys since 2021 following a 259-game career spanning across three clubs in Australia's national rugby league competition, including a premiership with the Wests Tigers in 2005.
Similarly to Mitchell, Payten won a premiership as an assistant coach with the Cowboys in 2015 before moving into a head coaching role, while the current Hawthorn coach was a part of the assistant coaching staff at West Coast that won a flag in 2018.
An interim coach for New Zealand in 2020, Payten rejoined the Cowboys in 2021 to take the reins, and has led the Cowboys to a 5-1-5 start this season, sitting sixth on the ladder - coincidentally as the Hawks do too following their Thursday night win.
Mitchell explained the relationship between the pair post-game, with the Hawthorn coach stating that Payten's objective view of the game has allowed the 42-year-old to grow in his fourth season leading the club.
"The boys are making a bit of a joke that I had him just to make sure that they tackled well, because if not, they might get tackled by him," Mitchell quipped post-game.
"Todd and I've struck up a bit of a relationship, and we spent a bit of time together in the preseason. I went and looked in their coaches box. They had a practice game against Storm in their preseason down in Casey and I just shadowed him for a day, and just learned about how they go about things, what you can learn from other codes.
"They've got the Storm tomorrow night, so I had him along, and he came in the coaches box and was part of the preparation for the game and those things. I'm looking forward to chatting with him about what he learned, but more importantly for me, what he thinks that we could improve on, how we can do things better.
"He's got a fairly different demeanour to what I have, so learning from him is something that I've taken a lot of growth in my coaching, and looking forward to hearing what he thought about tonight."
Although said in jest, Payten's presence prompted the Hawks to amp up the pressure on Thursday night, as Hawthorn recorded 82 tackles, 44 more than their dismal effort of 38 against Collingwood last Friday night.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was another prominent figure sighted in the clubrooms following the win, embracing with Mitchell post-game.
The Hawks' win now places Hawthorn with a solid 8-5 record, with a game against the Crows in Round 14 still to comeย to determine their record before entering their bye week.
