Are they? Nothing has come from the Pies. Only media.
If your open to listening, Leysy will explain why your theory on targetting Mitchell and Crouch Potato is not aligned (or up with) those currently employed at our club (and nearly, if not all, clubs in the country).
You say Mitchell can deliver what Taranto can next year and keep pumping out stats and such. On just stats he might, but that is only one part of the game. The other is true impact on the scoreboard. Then the other is when your side doesn't have the ball, which you need to watch football to understand.
Transition two-way running is everything now. Richmond, Geelong now, Collingwood, Sydney etc - You can't have purely stoppage to stoppage midfielders in your system. They need to get back and help, then sprint forward and do the same. Hence the Potato and Mitchell are on the outer at their clubs. Conversely Meatball is world class at that balance.
Taranto (and full disclosure would have preferred Dunkley), is an endurance beast. For a big guy he keeps running. Full running numbers are hard to get but in 2021 he averaged 14.36km a game. All our elite runners Graham (14.06) Broad (13.86) Lablett (13.63) Short (13.61) were behind him. Think about that - Leysy has no doubt that was near the number 1 thing that sold Blair and Co's to him.
He's a modern footballer who also has the other massive advantage over Mitchell - size/strength at a stoppage. His physical qualities to block opposition walking out from any type of stoppage is far above Mitchell's.
If the game was played on Footywire Leysy would agree with you BH. But guess what, it ain't.
Leysy's not holding his breathe, but maybe some of that resonates why you're thinking isn't aligned with our (and most) clubs on slow inside mids and is either blinkered, out of date, or both.
