Mitch Wallis and his role moving forward

[craigsahibee]

Libba's knee has forced our hand with Mitch. It may have happened anyway, but the injury to Tom has meant that Mitch's role is now more balanced with both attack and defense. Before hurting his hand last year Mitch played some solid footy when he made his way back into the Seniors. I might be a footy romantic, but there is nothing better than seeing the son of a former idol tearing it up in the hoops. Mitch will be a future Captain of our great footy club, just like his old man.

[1eyedog]

And he doesn't miss. A very accurate kick for goals. Always feel confident when he or Dickson are lining up for goal.

Consummate professional.

[stefoid]

Libba's knee has forced our hand with Mitch. It may have happened anyway, but the injury to Tom has meant that Mitch's role is now more balanced with both attack and defense. Before hurting his hand last year Mitch played some solid footy when he made his way back into the Seniors. I might be a footy romantic, but there is nothing better than seeing the son of a former idol tearing it up in the hoops. Mitch will be a future Captain of our great footy club, just like his old man.

Like Picken, he has been trusted by the coach to play both ways because Bev doesnt do hard tags, so I guess we would have seen more of 'rounded' mitch anyway.

[F'scary]

Wallis was pretty much playing like he is now last season, he copped an injury that ended it early. That was the problem.

[Dancin' Douggy]

God we're just so choc full of talent right now. Please let us hold it together and win a goddamn flag. Or 2

[bornadog]

Mitch has been fantastic this year and as TBB asked in his earlier posts, should we release the shackles; well Bevo did and he has become one of the best inside mids.

Mitch lacks pace, but his strength around the packs has been phenomenal.

[Ozza]

Mitch has been fantastic this year and as TBB asked in his earlier posts, should we release the shackles; well Bevo did and he has become one of the best inside mids.

Mitch lacks pace, but his strength around the packs has been phenomenal.

Yes, his ability to get his body into the best position for a contested ground ball (or occasionally for a mark) is fantastic, protecting the ball drop/bounce and being in a position to get a handball away.

[Ghost Dog]

Yes, his ability to get his body into the best position for a contested ground ball (or occasionally for a mark) is fantastic, protecting the ball drop/bounce and being in a position to get a handball away.

Mitch is the master of the burrow and lunge handpass out of a gordian knot of players. That curly head pops out of an impossible mess of limbs to fire off a handball, to get things rolling.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Mitch has been fantastic this year and as TBB asked in his earlier posts, should we release the shackles; well Bevo did and he has become one of the best inside mids.

Mitch lacks pace, but his strength around the packs has been phenomenal.

Yep - Bevo has been fantastic for Mitch.

Very consistent, reliable, hard working inside mid. No surprise with Libba back, we've become one of the best midfield groups in the league - these two are genuine beasts.

The do we tag vs do we not tag is interesting from a more general perspective. Norf got carved up by Dangerfield but I also understand Bevo's sentiment that having a purely negating player around the stoppages/clearances effectively puts you a man down. I think we've got the right mix - when Mitchell got out of hand, Daniel went to him and did a good job.

[Bulldog4life]

As well as playing well all year Mitch and Libba both did a tremendous job during the latter part of the final quarters against West Coast and Port.

[always right]

Wallis is often the bloke who gets us back into games with his intensity. He's a leader.

[LostDoggy]

Strange how he is not really mentioned as a possible captain. Rarely plays a bad game.

[Go_Dogs]

Bump.

Mitch Wallis is one of the most intriguing players in 2018 as far as I'm concerned.

After returning with a bang from his very significant injury in 2016, he faded a little as the season progressed and struggled to have the same impact he had in 2015 and 2016, particularly with his clearance numbers. I remember seeing him as a junior and his ability to run stood out, so it's pleasing to hear he's been up front in our time trials.

Whilst we are likely to want him doing some heavy lifting around the contest and clearance, his ability to find space, accumulate and potentially drift forward if the right match up presents to take overhead marks and kick goals can add a lot to our side.

A couple of concerns I have about his game are:-

1. Lack of willingness to kick the ball (k:h ratio) and lack of hurt factor
2. His pace

Sam Mitchell has an incredible reputation and was never quick. His kicking was certainly better than Mitch's (off both sides) but I'm not sure he'd be known for penetration with kicking, more being very neat and efficient with great vision. Don't think Mitch can get to his level but I'd like to see him model his game on what Mitchell was able to do.

What are others expecting from Mitch this year? What are his strengths and weaknesses and how can he make some small changes in his game to impact our performance?


Also, interesting going back and reading what we were talking about 3.5 years ago re Mitch. It's easy to forget the level he was building to before his injury.

[Twodogs]

I'd like to see him have a year where he reconsolodates and finds his way back to building towards the player we all know he can be. i know he had a few backward steps last year but I think that Mitch will be keen to get on his bike and go forward.

[jeemak]

I don't remember anyone who plays with the positional workload Mitch does who has come back from such an horrendous broken leg as well as Mitch did.

That's possibly because none have really had any, since Nafan Brown?

Folks tend to forget how elite his work inside with hands can be when he has someone to share the load with, for example, a slim Libba. I agree Go_Dogs, he needs to use his feet more, because whilst he's not a flashy player he is a smart and much of the time creative player who unlike many other midfielders of his ilk, can go forward and hit the scoreboard.

At the end of 2016 he was rated elite by Champion data. If he's genuinely over his physical impairments, then I don't see why at 25 he can't take a step forward from where he was just prior to injuring himself.