Tom Mitchell has revealed he drew upon dual Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams to take his game to the next level, and all signs suggest the Hawthorn star is next in line to receive the AFL's greatest individual honour.
Mitchell on Thursday night underscored his Brownlow favouritism with a comfortable victory in the AFL Players' Association most valuable player award.
The Hawthorn ball magnet (773 votes) polled ahead of Carlton young gun Patrick Cripps (529) and Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn (412) to claim the player-voted Leigh Matthews Trophy at a ceremony in Melbourne.
Mitchell has continued to astound this season with his ability to win the ball despite heavy attention from opposition taggers.
The 25-year-old averaged a league-high 35.7 disposals and 7.9 clearances per game and gathered an AFL-record 54 touches against Collingwood in round one.
Mitchell revealed he had turned to 1986 and 1994 Brownlow Medallist Williams - himself a prolific ball-winner and a former teammate of Mitchell's father Barry at Carlton and St Kilda - for advice on how to handle taggers.
Hawthorn assistant Brett Ratten, who will start a new role with the Saints at the end of the season, has been another valuable source of advice.
"I've had a lot of people in my corner who have experienced similar things and gone through similar situations," Mitchell told reporters.
"Greg Williams has been a bit of a mentor for me over the years away from the footy club.
"Brett Ratten is another one who, in his career, experienced it as well. He's been another person who's been great to bounce ideas off."
Mitchell is a $1.65 favourite for the Brownlow Medal with bookmakers Sportsbet ahead of Cripps, Gawn and last year's winner Dustin Martin.
In each of the past three years, the players' MVP has gone on to win the Brownlow.
Gawn earlier this week took out the other major individual award when he was named the AFL coaches' player of the year, but not since Scott Wynd took home "Charlie" in 1992 has a ruckman won the marquee honour.
The Hawks will go in as underdogs in next Thursday night's qualifying final against reigning premiers Richmond at the MCG but the presence of tactical maestro Alastair Clarkson means they cannot be written off.
"The biggest thing he's done is instil a lot of belief in me as a player," Mitchell said.
"He's been one of the great coaches of the game so to have him in my corner and backing me in every week is where my improvement has come from."
TOM MITCHELL'S AFL SEASON AT A GLANCE
Games: 22
Average disposals per game: 35.7 (ranked No.1 in the AFL; gathered an AFL record 54 touches against Collingwood in round one)
Goals: 12
Clearances: 172 (ranked No.1 in the AFL)
Contested possessions: 352 (ranked No.3 in the AFL)
Inside-50s: 111 (ranked No.4 in the AFL)
Honours: All-Australian, AFL Players' Association MVP
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