If West Coast fans thought gun recruit Sam Mitchell was good in 2012, they should have seen him the year before. Or a few years later.
The former Hawthorn onballer this week added the AFL's greatest individual accolade to his decorated resume, named co-Brownlow Medallist alongside Richmond captain Trent Cotchin, after Essendon's Jobe Watson was stripped of the award.
Cotchin, who also earned his sole All-Australian selection and was named the AFL coaches association's player of the year in 2012, looks back on it as his best season.
Not so Mitchell.
"It's awkward to say 'probably not' but I don't think so," Mitchell said with a grin on Thursday.
"I had a strong season, obviously I'm sitting here (as a Brownlow Medallist) but probably the year before I was slightly better.
"I was ineligible (through suspension) and Dane Swan polled 34, which was the most ever at that stage. I think I've been reasonably consistent over those years."
And he has.
Mitchell was Hawthorn's leading Brownlow vote-getter or runner-up in all but one of the past 10 years - the sole exception being 2014, when he missed nine weeks with a hamstring injury.
He polled a career-high 30 votes when he fell short to Swan in 2011 and was arguably just as good in 2015, racking up 26 votes as the Hawks capped off their premiership three-peat.
At 34, Mitchell will be the third-oldest active player in the AFL next season behind Western Bulldogs stalwarts Bob Murphy and Matthew Boyd.
As with all players, father time is bound to catch up eventually. But Mitchell's class and tactical nous suggest the Eagles have plenty to look forward to when he links up with his new teammates later this month.
He and Cotchin will receive their Brownlow medals in a private ceremony next month and Mitchell says he's keen for the turmoil surrounding the 2012 award to be put to rest.
"There's a lot of things that have happened in the past that have got very little to do with us," he said.
"But when I've got my son sitting there and I get a phone call saying 'you're a Brownlow Medallist', I'd be lying if I (said) it was not a joyful experience to share that with my family right at that point."
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