Mitchell, who was picked up by the Swans as an international rookie in last year’s rookie draft, shared the ruck duties with Tom Derickx, Sam Naismith and Toby Nankervis during the match, which was played as a curtain raiser to the Swans’ round one clash with GWS in Homebush.
Mitchell, who stands at 199cm and at 101kg, said he thrived on the chance to get amongst the action in his first competitive hit-out against UWS.
“I had a lot of fun and it was a blast to get out there with the rest of the boys,” Mitchell told SwansTV.
“We’ve been working hard all pre-season and it was fun to get out there and have a crack against somebody else.
“We had a lot of time working on each other during the pre-season but obviously it was great to be able to get physical against somebody else and not have to worry about taking it too easy.
“It was very physical, but I enjoy that and I love that part about this game and I kind of thrive on it a little bit.”
Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Mitchell played college basketball for the University of North Dakota before making the move to Australia after impressing the Swans in a trial with the club in July last year.
Since his arrival in Sydney, the 24-year-old has worked closely with ruck coach Stephen Taubert and has also taken advice from fellow international import, Mike Pyke.
“The biggest thing for me is just jumping into the body,” Mitchell said about his transition from basketball to AFL.
“Coming from a basketball background, we jump straight up and we don’t try to initiate that contact.
“I’ve been taking advice from Pykey and have been trying to sort that out.
“Obviously there are some things I need to improve on so I’m just going to continue to work hard and take the coaches’ advice and just keep improving every day in practice.”
Mitchell said he was happy with his first performance for the Swans reserves, but acknowledged he still has plenty of work ahead of him.
“My first game went a little bit better than I thought it would,” he said.
“The jumps that I had were getting better and better and it’s just going to come more naturally with more time.
“I just need to keep practicing and we’ll see how I go.”
