Kobe Mutch’s first week as an Essendon player was coming to a close. The playing group had returned from pre-season camp and had a day off to look forward to.

It was an option Mutch chose to resist. Instead he travelled into his new home and did some one-on-one work with a development coach. Mutch’s penchant for extra work is no surprise to those who have worked closely with him in recent years.

Throughout his under 18 career, Mutch was a regular at Bendigo Pioneers headquarters on ‘nights off’. Pioneers Talent Manager Steve Sharp recalls not only a hard worker, but also a leader.

“He’d often do extra work in the gym when he had the night off training and would always come upstairs to say ‘hello’,” Sharp said. “He probably doesn’t even realise he’s developing his leadership skills by doing things like that. We don’t do as much people engagement with all of the electronics and digital media around today, but Kobe stands out to me as someone who takes a genuine interest in people and you can’t help but admire that.”

A foot injury late in the year saw Mutch spend about a month in a moon boot and sit out some of the testing at the Draft Combine. “He had a foot injury that wasn’t severe and he’s fully recovered from that now, but he just wanted to play with us,” Sharp said. “We had to hold him back to look after him because he had bigger fish to fry. He just wanted to play with his mates. He’s a very loyal kid.”

Mutch represented Bendigo, NSW/ACT, the Allies and the NAB AFL Academy throughout 2016. He averaged 25 disposals per game throughout the National Championships and won All-Australian honours.

“He’s a really level headed kid who provides consistent performances on the field,” Sharp said. “He gets a lot of the ball and reads the play really well. I had a bit of involvement with Craig Bolton and Lenny Hayes way back and Kobe’s in that category in terms of being a role model and an excellent person.”

The young midfielder covered some distance on his route to the draft. From Broken Hill, he moved to Mildura and then Bendigo where he finished his schooling. “He talks about always being a Pioneers player and always being a Broken Hill kid – those things mean a lot to him and when you’ve got a kid talking like that, you know you’ve got the right person,” Sharp said.

Mutch was drafted to the Club he grew up supporting via the 42 overall pick. Sharp rated Mutch in the 20 to 30 range and expects him to make a smooth transition into the AFL environment.

“Obviously there is an extra load for his body that he’ll have to adapt to but with us he was always consistent, always professional, always setting standards and always a leader,” Sharp said. “When you see that on the track, you know that’s going to translate to his performances on the ground. We expected a high level of performance from Kobe each week and we got that.”