Early Career At Essendon
Recruited from the local junior team the Moonee Imperials, Mitchell was so impressive with the Essendon Thirds (under-19s) in his first season that he was promoted to the Firsts; and, apart from times when injured (he was prone to leg injuries), he played as a Firsts regular. He played 77 consecutive games for the Firsts from 1954 to 1958.
He was a fast and very clever footballer, a beautiful drop kick and very elusive; he had an astounding ability to anticipate opponents and often popped up unexpectedly just where he was needed.
In his early career he played on the forward line – he played at full-forward in the side that lost 7.11 (53) to Geelong's 9.7 (61) in the 1955 First Semi-Final – and, as his career progressed he developed into Essendon's first genuine specialist ruck-rover who, for many years rucked in tandem with Geoff Leek, alternating with Mal Pascoe.
He played his first senior match for Essendon on Saturday 15 August 1953, in round 16 of the 1953 home-and-away season, when Essendon beat Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to 12.10 (82) to 8.9 (57), with Mitchell scoring the first of his 301 career goals for Essendon.
He kicked five goals in a match on four occasions, six goals in a match on two occasions, and nine goals, in an Essendon team score of 13.14 (92) against South Melbourne 7.12 (54), at Windy Hill on Saturday 4 June 1955.
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