Sam Mitchell’s bold recruiting tactics have changed the game — with a secret weapon

Sam Mitchell was a champion player and is fast building a reputation as a master coach.

He can now add recruiter to the resume as well.

The Hawthorn coach is changing the trade and free agency game with his unashamed, hands-on approach by getting involved in recruiting star players from rival clubs.

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That includes meeting with two captains from other clubs — Oscar Allen and Zach Merrett — in season.

There’s also talk Mitchell has led Hawthorn’s pursuit of the likes of Harley Reid and Zak Butters. And we know he played a big hand in getting Tom Barrass and Josh Battle to the club last year.

It’s ruthless and uncompromising. Remind you of a star player from that Hawthorn golden era?

The latest attempted raid that has the entire footy world talking could see Merrett don the colours of one of Essendon’s fiercest rivals in a switch that would make the Bombers faithful shudder.

Mitchell’s secret weapon in all of this? His wife Lyndall, who’s part of the recruitment process including reportedly being involved in the recent Merrett meeting.

“Whether it’s Merrett, Barrass or Battle, it’s all the same philosophy in terms of what Sam is selling for the club and what it’s about. It’s about investment and investing in success. It’s an all-in approach and having Lyndall involved in pitches is critical,” former Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon told foxfooty.com.au.

“She’s been through his football career and now his coaching career. She understands exactly what wives and partners are going through that are coming into the football club. They’re a part of it as much as the player.

“When a player signs a contract, they’re signing the whole family into the club, not just themselves. The investment is in them as a whole — kids, partners, parents — the whole lot.

“When you recruit players, you need to have a strong strategy on your premiership model and how you’re gong to win. But it’s also lifestyle and balancing everything, because it’s not just the footy side of things that creates success.

“Sam has unlocked that, it’s a really holistic approach and a smart one.”

Everyone has a different opinion on coaches meeting with rival players.

Some find it disrespectful. Some acknowledge it’s just the nature of the modern landscape. And most accept it’s happening at every club, but only some meetings get out.

Essendon coach Brad Scott declared on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 “the gloves are off and all is fair in love and war,” saying the Bombers would “play that game too.”

It’s clear Mitchell, the coach, is just as competitive and driven as Mitchell, the player, in his pursuit for more success.

Seventeen other clubs might not care to admit it. But they’d probably love if Mitchell was their man leading the recruiting charge to the enth degree.

Almost like that player everyone loves to hate, but you’d love if they were yours.

And in Hawthorn’s case, the club’s recruiting drive has played such a pivotal part in supercharging this resurgence under Mitchell.

There’s been mixed views on St Kilda’s bold trade and free agency spurge after it didn’t work several years ago.

But the Hawks showed how valuable utilising all recruiting mechanisms can help a middling team bounce hard to in some ways change the traditional formula of successful list builds.

And Dixon believes rival clubs should be taking notice.

“Other clubs I have no doubt would be changing their strategy on how they sell the club and recruit players,” the 203-gamer added.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and Hawthorn knows how to make the pieces fit and make their puzzle better.

“There was a recruit in the last few years that came to Hawthorn, where they’re big on what they do for families and there’s a crèche and all this kind of stuff. The club that recruit was leaving couldn’t even spell crèche.

“What was the investment like in the family, kids and what they do off the field? They hadn’t even thought of that. I look at that and go: ‘Wake up to yourself’.

“It’s a whole thing you’ve got to pitch, it’s your future.”

Sure, Hawthorn spent a few years down the ladder and accrued young talent with high-end draft picks. But a key chunk of the club’s star core were players recruited from rival clubs.

In fact, 10 of the Hawks’ 23 playing in Friday night’s semi-final against Adelaide were acquired via trade or free agency.

Most notably, Hawthorn following a seven-win 2023 season added Jack Ginnivan, Jack Gunston, Mabior Chol and Massimo D’Ambrosio after bringing in Karl Amon and Lloyd Meek the previous year.

There were question marks on that strategy at the time given the club was thought to be rebuilding. There was also scrutiny at the end of 2022 that the club was cutting too much experience when it traded Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara in addition to several other veterans departing.

But here we are again. The club that dominated the 2010s and the modern era at large is again set up for another flag tilt.

Just like that, the combination of new pieces, emerging starpower, some evergreen veterans and an exciting new Hokball brand made Mitchell’s Hawks a rising force to be reckoned with again.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s been the key ingredient to this Hawthorn revival. List boss Mark McKenzie sure deserves a lot of credit as well for the work he’s done.

But one thing is clear; Sam Mitchell has his fingerprints all over it. And he’s not done yet.

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