Hawthorn Senior Coach Sam Mitchell is set to coach his 100th game for the brown and gold on Easter Monday, in what is always a big match for the Club.
The traditional blockbuster will be made even more special as the brown and gold faithful have the opportunity to celebrate Mitchell's special achievement, adding to a long list of accolades as a player and now, senior coach.
Mitchell was appointed to lead Hawthorn ahead of the 2022 season and has won 49 of his 99 games in charge, holding a 49 per cent winning record.
Monday's match will also see Mitchell become the sixth person to coach Hawthorn in 100 VFL/AFL games, joining Alastair Clarkson (390 games), John Kennedy Snr (299), Allan Jeans (221), Jack Hale (146) and Peter Schawab (109) in the esteemed ranks.
Mitchell's coaching highlights include guiding the team to finals in the past two seasons, with the 2024 finals appearance coming after a remarkable turnaround from a 0-5 start to the year.
Mitchell has been highly lauded for developing an exciting game style with an emerging list, making Hawthorn one of the most attractive teams to watch under his leadership.
Speaking about his upcoming milestone, the Hawks coach spoke about the strategic planning that has gone into his first 99 games at the helm.
"There’s part of me that thinks four years ago was 20 years ago... then there’s an equal part of me that thinks it was yesterday," Mitchell said.
"You look at the journey and what we tried to start and tried to develop, there is a level of, we’re on the right track, but we’re not there yet.
"I think we look back at the strategic planning that we did in those first few months, we spent an enormous amount of time figuring out the direction and how we get there.
"There’s been some adjustments in that journey along the way but for the most part, I say it to the players pretty regularly, work works and that would be an example, the amount of work that we’ve put in regularly, I think that has held us in good stead and given us a bit of a shining light of how we’re trying to achieve what we want to as a football club."
As a player, Mitchell's accolades are well known and fondly remembered by all of the brown and gold faithful, boasting five Peter Crimmins Medals, four premierships, three All-Australian blazers and a Brownlow Medal.
He is also a member of the Club's Hall of Fame and the Australian Football Hall of Fame, cementing the 329-game crafty midfielder and highly-regarded coach as one of the greatest figures in the Club's history.
Hawthorn members and fans are encouraged to get down to the MCG on Easter Monday to cheer on Mitchell and the Hawks as they look to celebrate this milestone in the best way possible. CLICK HERE to get your tickets!
