Sydney, a team renowned for getting trades right and perpetuating a winning culture, cost itself a premiership by letting one particular player go at the end of last season, according to former Fremantle coach, Chris Connolly.
At the end of last season, Sydney traded young midfielder Tom Mitchell and pick 57 to Hawthorn in exchange for picks 14 and 52.
The Swans then on-traded pick 14 to Port Adelaide, which the Power used to recruit Todd Marshall, while pick 52 was on-traded to the Giants.
Mitchell starred in his first season in brown and gold this year, breaking the record for the most disposals in a home and away season, with 787, averaging 35.8 disposals, 5.3 marks, 6.5 tackles and 6.3 clearances per game.
Connolly says letting go of Mitchell, who played 26 games for the Swans last season, was a disastrous mistake and he would have given Sydney the extra edge it needed to propel it the premiership this season.
“This is a club that pinches all of the best players from clubs around the country and has done it quite successfully over a long period of time. How on earth did they let this home-grown son of a champion walk out of the club?” Connolly said on SEN on Wednesday.
“It has cost them a premiership this season.”
“Tom Mitchell (was) the second best player in the (2016) Grand Final and nearly won it for them. He’s 24 years of age and you don’t play your best footy until your 25.
“This guy has the credibility to become a champion of our game and 12 months later we see that at the Hawthorn footy club, - he’ll probably come top three in the Brownlow Medal.
“Sydney are in premiership mode, they get themselves into a position to win a premiership. Play a big game against Geelong and there’s no Tom Mitchell in the midfield.
“In that game (he’d have) taken the pressure off Josh Kennedy. Not often do you get shut down by (Mark) Blicavs. You can’t take him out of the midfield and put Tom Mitchell in.
“You lose flexibility through the midfield and the game is won and lost through the midfield.”
Mitchell was a key player for the Swans last season, averaging 27.8 disposals, 3.5 clearances, 6.1 tackles and 3.7 inside 50s.
He spent four seasons at Sydney playing 65 games after being recruited pick No.21 under the father-son rule in 2011, before requesting a trade to Hawthorn at the end of last year.
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