Mitchell proud of century but wants more successFriday, August 31, 2018 - 10:38 AM - by Chris Pike

HAVING his passion for the game rekindled with a year away in 2017, Kane Mitchell is excited to reach 100 games with Claremont on Sunday but he's even more looking forward to the chance play a home final at Claremont Oval and help bring more finals success to the Tigers.

Mitchell was a key part of a remarkable period of success for Claremont before he joined AFL club Port Adelaide ahead of the 2013 season.

He was a prolific ball winner and remarkably hard runner as part of a Tigers side that finished on top of the ladder three straight years and reached the Grand Finals of 2010, 2011 and 2012 before winning back-to-back premierships the last two of those years following the heartbreak of 2010.

He was the outstanding player in the WAFL in 2012 going on to win the Sandover Medal and Claremont's fairest and best in the premiership year so it was no surprise he was drafted to Port Adelaide in the Rookie Draft as a result.

His enormous engine to run hard all day saw him make his mark at Port Adelaide too going on play 31 games over his first three seasons at AFL level.

But when Mitchell fell out of favour and played only four games in 2016, his passion for the game dwindled and he needed a break once he was informed his time at Port Adelaide was over.

Instead of returning straight back to Claremont, he instead embarked on a ski season in Canada before time in South and Central America but the passion returned to come back to TIgerland and he was back in January in preparation for the 2018 season.

The 2012 Sandover Medallist has put together a tremendous season with the Tigers upon return averaging 28.3 disposals across his 16 games to help Claremont back into the finals starting with Sunday's elimination final against East Perth at Claremont Oval.

That game will coincide with Mitchell notching his 100-game milestone with Claremont too and whether his name goes on the No. 9 or 1 locker remains to be seen, it's an achievement he's rightfully proud of.

"To have my name on the locker is something that I've always wanted and strived for, so to get the 100 games coming back this year is a beautiful thing," Mitchell said.

"I've had this beautiful time before playing in a successful era and now coming back trying send those same messages like Luke Blackwell, Clancy Rudeforth and those guys were sending me.

"To get that 100 is an amazing thing and when I'm old and grey, and no one remembers if I played well or not, I can just show the grandkids that grandpa played 100 games for Claremont. That's what I most look forward to about it."

It's fair to say Mitchell has returned to an unrecognisable Claremont Oval and playing group from the one he left after the 2012 premiership as well.

No longer there are the likes of Luke Blackwell, Jake Murphy, Trinity Handley, Lewis Stevenson, Paul Medhurst, Andrew Foster, David Crawford, James Thomson, Ryan Neates, Chad Jones, Rory Walton, Mitch Andrews and Andrew Browne.

There is still a good core of experienced players for Mitchell to reteam up with along with arrivals in his time away like Haydn Busher, Jye Bolton and Tom Curren, but it's the group of emerging young players that Mitchell is more exciting about looking forwards.

"I left as a 21-year-old and we did a line-up of oldest to youngest at our camp, and I was heading towards the middle but all the boys told me to keep going and I ended up third from the end with only Beauy Maister and Richo ahead of me," he said.

"I was the third oldest and now the second with Beauy having retired so it has changed a lot. Guys like Keifer Yu, Richo, Tommy Lee, Jess Laurie and Anton Hamp are still there so there's a core group who have been there a long time but there's so many young guys who just bring energy and new ideas. 

"We've got a really good group of emerging leaders like Ryan Lim, Jared Hardisty, Lachy Martinis, Bailey Rogers and they are like I was learning off the older guys I did. It's a really exciting time and I can't wait to see how they develop as footballers and young men."

Coming off his four-year stint in Adelaide at Port Adelaide, Mitchell wanted a break from football and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to come back to the game at all until he saw some finals action on the TV. 

That's when he realised he wanted to be part of that again and help this new breed at Claremont experience the success he had before he went away.

"My fiancé Rachel and I had always wanted to do a ski season away and obviously football doesn’t really allow you to do that, and I had been going for a long time," Mitchell said.

"My last year in Adelaide wasn’t the most enjoyable just because I felt like I was playing good enough football but it just wasn’t my time to be playing in the AFL team. 

"I just wanted to get away from football last year and experience something new because I had been on the grindstone and toiling away for near on a decade. It does take a toll so I wanted to get away and I didn’t actually watch any football when I was in Canada. 

"I just immersed myself in hiking and snowboarding and going on van trips. It wasn’t until my beloved Magpies made the SANFL Grand Final and actually lost by a point where a lot of what ifs came into my mind. 

"Then I watched the AFL Grand Final and saw how much fun they were having, and that's what football is all about and I didn’t want to look back with any regrets after my career. 

"That was the catalyst to me moving back after we had some time in Central and South America before getting back in January. Getting away for that time rekindled my love for football and these young guys are making sure I'm enjoying my football again."

While Mitchell is proud of the 100-game milestone he reaches on Sunday, the sole focus is on getting the win to keep their season alive.

After a rollercoaster season, the Tigers enter the season in their best form of the campaign and Mitchell is confident of them continuing that on Sunday and beyond while paying tribute to the coaching staff for bringing the group together.

"Finals are all that matters at the moment. We weren’t looking like we were going to play finals midway through the year but there was a real team buy in and shift in our focus to make sure we played to our structure and with a hunting mentality," he said.

"Since then we've played some pretty good footy and beaten some teams that early on in the year we thought we might not have been able to. It's just come down to our pressure and hunting, and willingness to play as a team that has held us in good stead in the second half of the year."

"Our coaching staff have just been amazing ever since I got back to the club. Harro is an amazing coach and he and all the coaching staff have had such a big impact on me this year. They are all amazing men who care and give so much."

Another aspect of Sunday's elimination final for Mitchell to look forward to is another battle with old mate, and now foe, Patrick McGinnity with the East Perth co-captain playing his 99th WAFL game back at his old stomping ground.

"Pat and I have played a few games together and against each other now, and we always bang bodies as well. I'm sure he and I will no doubt have a little tussle on the weekend," Mitchell said.

"He's just an outstanding footballer and even better bloke. There can be only one winner on the weekend and I hope it's us, but I hope Patty gets a fair bit of the footy and kicks a goal or two as long as we still win the game."

Following a 26-point loss to South Fremantle back in Round 14, Claremont has put in five tremendous performances to win four of those games and the only loss was by three points to the undefeated Subiaco.

That meant they had secured a finals spot heading into last Saturday's clash with Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval, but they had to come from behind to win after the siren to earn a home final this Sunday against the Royals.

"Our last six or so games have been really good and we've been building. Our first half of the year wasn’t ideal but we did kick ourselves out of a few games and then even recently in that Subi game, we took them as close as anyone," he said.

"I think our best footy is as good as anyone so as long as we bring our defensive pressure and stick to our structures then it will hold us in much better stead than we produced earlier in the year.

"We knew going into it that we had to win to make sure we got a home final and we love playing at Claremont Oval, I think we've played some of our best football there. 

"We knew that was on the line and we probably didn’t came as prepared as we probably should have fighting for a home final so we need to learn from that and it's going to be a big start that we need on the weekend. 

"But it's a good thing knowing you can come from behind and win games even though we don't want to get behind in finals football because it's even harder to come back with so much at stake."

While Mitchell left a Claremont team that was dominating the WAFL, they have not won a final since having gone out in straight sets in 2013 after another minor premiership and then losing an elimination final to East Perth in 2015.

"We have only played in one final since 2013 and that a loss away and haven’t won one since that 2012 Grand Final so it's been a long time between drinks," Mitchell said.

"Just having the new clubrooms and the fact that this is the first full season they've been open makes it more special after we've done all our pre-season there and hosted all our home games there. 

"It's really exciting to have a final at home and our reserves will be there too after finishing second. It's such an amazing feeling when you have both reserves and league playing finals football and there's definitely a buzz around the club heading into Sunday."