Speaking after Hawthorn's gallant nine-point loss against the reigning premiers at the MCG on Easter Monday, Mitchell said the Cats will again be one of the teams to beat in 2010.
"I'm not sure who's got that expectation, but we certainly don't. They're a very, very good side and I don't see any reason why they would be going anywhere but forwards," the midfielder said.
"They've lost Tom Harley, but a lot of their younger players have got another year of experience and they've brought in some pretty good kids, who I think they will be pretty excited about and they've got some others in the wings."
"You look at some of the players that aren't there anymore and I've been watching [Brent] Prismall play a little bit and he's playing really good footy. When a guy like him can't consolidate a spot in the side, you know they're pretty strong and going to stay that way."
Although Mitchell said the loss of Rhan Hooper (hamstring) and Jordan Lewis (ankle) didn't help Hawthorn's cause, he didn't use it as an excuse.
"They're a very good side and have been for a long time and you've got to play four quarters... and we made a few too many mistakes when it counted," he said.
"Once you lose a couple of rotations, it really doesn't help - I know they lost one as well [Steven Motlop]... but it made it tough and sometimes that's the way the game goes and they were just a little bit too good at the end.
"You can't harp on it, I'm not saying we would've won if [Lewis] was out there, but we just didn't make the most of our opportunities.
"We really like playing the good sides and it's not going to be any different next week when we have a crack at the Bulldogs and it'll be another chance to see where we're at."
