After spending months training on Lakeside Oval opposite the iconic ground, the team trained for the first time on the SCG turf on Wednesday morning ahead of the Swans’ round four match against North Melbourne this Sunday.
Speaking to SwansTV about this week’s home match, Mitchell said the team had been itching to return to the SCG now the season was well and truly underway.
“Everyone has been edging to get back out here and everyone is really excited just to be back out on the SCG for training,” Mitchell said.
“It was our first session on the SCG for the year and we had Tippo (Kurt Tippett) and Tommy Walsh back for their first training session with the team, so the boys are buzzing and it’s really good to be back out on the SCG.
“We’ve been on Lakeside Oval over the road for the whole pre-season and then the first couple of rounds and NAB games, but we love training out here.
“It’s such a good atmosphere and it’s good to be able to practice good training habits for when we have a home game like we do on Sunday.”
The positive vibe around the club this week also stems from the impressive 63-point win over the Adelaide Crows last Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
The 20-year-old said playing in front of a packed house over in Adelaide was a great experience, and was one he’d like to see replicated in the Harbour City.
“It was a great win by the boys,” he said
“We had 50,000 South Australians screaming at us and the boys stepped up really well and it was a really good team effort where everyone contributed.
“We were really happy to come away with that result under the circumstances over there.
“It would be great to be able to fill the stadium out and have all those supporters cheering for us.
“Hopefully we can get a decent crowd and all those fans come along this Sunday as well as for all the home games throughout the season.”
While last Saturday’s match was a big win for the Swans, it was a quieter performance from Mitchell, who collected nine possessions and kicked one goal before being subbed out of the match at three-quarter time.
The midfielder, who earned a Rising Star nomination in just his second career game last season, said he intended to work hard to ensure he was ready to face North Melbourne this weekend.
“As a young player, you don’t ever rest on your last performance or the last couple of games,” he said.
“You always have to fight for your spot, especially with some of the depth we have and players we have coming back from injury.
“I definitely don’t feel like I’ve cemented a spot at all, so I’m going to have to keep fighting to try and play my role each week and hopefully stay in the team.”
The Swans midfield will have a task on their hands when they come up against the likes of new Roo Nick Dal Santo, young duo Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac, as well as Brent Harvey, who has been in red hot form over the past two weeks.
Mitchell said the Kangaroos’ win over Port Adelaide last weekend showed what they are capable of this year.
“We know they had a good win against Port and they played out four quarters and had a really good last quarter, so it’s going to be a really big challenge for us,” Mitchell said.
“We know they have some quality players as well in the midfield who are in good form, so we’re going to have to try to shut them down in order to win this weekend.”
