NESTLED on the south banks of the Murray River, the Robinvale Bridge Motel is the only motel in this neck of the woods. Some come to the bar and bistro for the burgers. The Mad Max, The Hangover or the Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Many stop to get the mail on how a young Hawthorn player who has burst onto the scene is tracking. 

Seamus Mitchell is who they ask about.  

The 20-year-old was delisted in November after playing only nine VFL games across two seasons at Waverley Park, a period where injuries stripped him of his confidence and prevented him from showing why the Hawks had used pick No.29 on him in the 2020 AFL Draft. 

But just six months after landing another chance at Hawthorn via the Rookie Draft, Mitchell is suddenly one of the most surprising performers in the AFL right now after playing eight of nine games since making his debut during Gather Round. 

Mitchell's parents, Alison and Dean, run the motel back in the small town halfway between Swan Hill and Mildura. It is why those who stop in for a feed or a pot want to know how the speedy utility is going in the big smoke. 

The locals remember when a 16-year-old Mitchell kicked four goals on debut in the Sunraysia Football and Netball League weighing just 60kg, and then backed it up with four the next week and six the week after. People don't forget those things. 

"I think it was round 11 or 12 last year that I found out I was going to have surgery on my ankle, so I knew I was done for the year. Then I was waiting that whole time up until November," Mitchell told AFL.com.au at Waverley Park this week. 

"It was really tough and really stressful not knowing what was going to happen. Eventually being reassured that they were going to take me was good, but still the wait was very tough. Eventually it got done and here I am now."

Mitchell was one of the final decisions Hawthorn list manager Mark McKenzie made last year, following a busy trade and free agency period where the Hawks underwent a major reset, shedding more than 1000 games of experience. 

After getting a late reprieve in November, the forward-turned-defender started banking eye-catching training sessions either side of Christmas. They didn't go unnoticed. Then he started banking strong performances for Box Hill in March and April. They didn't go unnoticed. 

When Jack Scrimshaw was injured heading into round five, it was finally Mitchell's turn. Coach Sam Mitchell dramatically queued up Will Day to nonchalantly announce the selection in a meeting inside Waverley Park three days out from the game – much to the disbelief of Seamus – providing just enough notice for 52 members of the youngster's family and friends in Robinvale to make the five-hour drive to Norwood Oval, where he collected 17 disposals first up to stake a claim for more. Much more.

"I am surprised myself," Mitchell said after training on Thursday. "Over the course of the first two years I lost a lot of confidence and self-belief. I think the coaches really drilled that into me. They told me I have a lot of talent and the ability to play AFL. It eventually showed in some of the practice matches. I wasn't outstanding but I was getting my job done and building my confidence."

New backline coach Kade Simpson has played a role in building his belief, along with the senior coach. But no one has done more to help Mitchell believe he can do more than Hawthorn's head of development Andy Collins, the three-time premiership Hawk who coached Box Hill last year. 

"Kade and Sam have been big, but 'Collo' has been a massive one for me," he said. "He really wanted me to have a go again this year and get me back. He has put his confidence in me to back myself. I've had to work really hard to earn it, but the belief has been big for me."

Mitchell had rarely played at half-back until this year, but has looked comfortable down there across the past two months. When he collected 27 disposals and nine rebound 50s against Melbourne at the MCG in round nine, Mitchell had a decent case for an AFL Rising Star nomination, but the powers that be went with Gold Coast young gun Bailey Humphrey instead. 

He has averaged 22 disposals across his past four appearances – he missed the game against Port Adelaide due to illness – and finished with 21 touches in the upset win over Brisbane before the mid-season bye. Josh Weddle landed a Rising Star nomination in round nine. It will only be a matter of time for Mitchell. 

"I'd actually never really played half-back until a few times last year, so I didn't really know I had it in me," he said. "I am surprised with my form and that I've been able to hold my spot and find that consistency."

Mitchell is close to finalising a contract extension that will underline the dramatic turnaround he has produced in the past couple of months, a turnaround that not many saw coming, including himself. 

"I think I can (make a career of this). The confidence I've got from this year has been massive. I can't be satisfied with where I'm at, I've just got to continue to improve and get better over the next year or two and not be happy with where I'm at. Just got to keep getting better."

Even before he was drafted, Mitchell was forced to do it the hard way. When he was cut from the Bendigo Pioneers program at the start of his bottom-age season, he went back to Robinvale Euston and performed so well against grown men that the door eventually swung back open in the Coates Talent League. 

Then the coronavirus pandemic derailed his top-age season, weeks after he had packed up his life at home and relocated to Bendigo to focus on landing a shot in the AFL. Factor in the injuries and not much has gone to script until recently. That is why so many in Robinvale are invested in his story.