How Mabior Chol shines at Hawthorn

What’s different about Hawthorn? Sam Mitchell and forwards coach Adrian Hickmott have brought out the best in Mabiour’s nature. Joel cites several factors.

GPS data confirmed that he was fitter and covering more ground. “My GPS and my work rate have improved dramatically – that’s probably not showing up on the stat sheet. From the feedback I’ve received and the database I’ve seen, I feel like my work rate has improved dramatically and that’s something I’m focusing on every week.”

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Aerobic fitness “has always been a question mark throughout his AFL career and it’s something I’ve worked really hard on in my off time and my head of strength and conditioning at Richmond, Peter Burge, knows me really well”.

The lanky but powerful 200cm Joel has spent less time in scrums this season, concentrating instead on forward skills with an attacking line-up that includes the talented Dylan Moore, Nick ‘The Wizard’ Watson and Jack Kinnevan, as well as veterans Jack Gunston and Luke Brewster.

“Obviously the coaches and the strength and conditioning coaches know where I’m best suited to play, which is forward and center.”

“He might seem like one of those coaches with a bad temper, but he’s a very caring person.”

Mabior Chol as Sam Mitchell

He is healthier, runs farther, puts more pressure on defense, and focuses on the game. But these are the results, not the root causes of the change.

Joel ventured that he felt the Hawthorns understood him. “People just get me,” he said of Hawthorn forwards coach Hickmott. “I feel like he understands me not only as a football player but as a person. So I feel like he brings the best out of me… not just on match days but in training, every day, everyday life.”

Mitchell also takes a holistic approach. “He may seem like one of those coaches who has a bad temper, but he’s a very caring person and he really values ​​you guys, all of his players.”

Mitchell gave Joel a chance after his second season at Richmond or Suns did not go well. If he had stayed at Suns, Damien Hardwick would have coached him at his second club. He said the decision to leave Gold Coast was partly because he realised the club had high-value academy prospects (Jed Walter and Ethan Reid) who they wanted to get playing time.

Hawthorn was the last to transfer. “Hawthorn has been fantastic since I moved here and I’m so grateful that I chose this club and that they chose me to come here and (gave him) so much trust.”

Joel didn’t say anything bad about Hardwick or Suns senior coach Stuart Du. Instead, he found his best self with the Hawks under Mitchell. “Every coach has their own preferred way of coaching. Don’t get me wrong, they are all very caring people.

“But I feel like, for me, it just comes down to what kind of football player I want to be and how much work I want to put in … here, I have kids that really value me as a player and they really encourage me to be myself and I feel like that brings the best out of me.”

Born in South Sudan, Joel’s family fled to Egypt to escape civil war. Joel’s path to the AFL is even more incredible considering he started playing in the AFL while in high school in Brisbane. A teacher on the football team asked him to play centre because he was not tall enough. Prior to that, he played football and basketball.

“They invited me to play AFL and I had no idea what it was.” But when he first stepped onto the iconic Gabba field, he was hooked on the sport and joined local club Yeronga Devils. “I fell in love with the game.”

When Joel was drafted, kids from Sudanese backgrounds were much less active in the game. “Now if you go to any local footy club you’ll find one or two of them.” This is increasingly the case with AFL clubs.

Hawthorne’s philosophy under Mitchell was to focus first on the individual able Do this while working to reduce his weaknesses.

“The important message for any player is that they come to Hawthorn … to make sure they are themselves,” Hickmott said.

“Mabio is very athletic. He has strong leaping ability and is very fast over 20 to 30 meters, which is what we encourage. We make sure he plays to his strengths. He can improve in some areas, but that’s … one of the main messages.”

Far from questioning the player’s effort, the forward coach saw a highly competitive player who provided the Eagles with necessary confrontation on offense.

“He has a big heart. He cares a lot about other people and doesn’t want to let the team down. So he’s very competitive. … It’s important for him to close the gap between a good shot and an average shot.”

Joel’s transformation, or maturity, is emblematic of Hawthorn’s astonishing performance this season, which has seen them start 0-4 before racing all the way to finals contention, winning nine of their 13 games. Today, they face the underachieving 2023 champions, and a win could see them reach the final.

“Sam Mitchell was really good at communicating the right message and the way we wanted to play, and we knew at some point everything was going to be okay, it was just a matter of time,” Joel said.

The same may be said of Mabior Chol.

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