SPEAK to Tom Mitchell about his 2014 season and frustrating is a word that comes up often.

 

Being out of the Sydney Swans' senior team for all bar the opening four rounds and the closing two rounds of this year's home and away season was obviously frustrating for the young midfielder.

 

Especially when he had been so impressive in the second half of 2013, playing 14 straight games after debuting in round 10 against Essendon, and earning a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in just his second match after racking up 31 possessions against Adelaide.

 

Only an ankle injury in the Swans' semi-final win over Carlton stopped Mitchell, then just 20, from playing in all three of the Swans' 2013 finals.

 

It was understandable, too, that Mitchell's inability to break back into the Swans' senior team this year was made all the more frustrating by his outstanding form in the NEAFL that included a staggering 64-possession haul against Eastlake in May.

 

But what really frustrated Mitchell in his time on the sidelines was a run of niggling ankle and knee injuries.

 

These injuries not only halted his push for a senior call-up by sidelining him from NEAFL games, they also stopped him from addressing the one area in his game the Swans coaching staff had specifically asked him to work on – his fitness.

 

"I haven't been around the club for a long time, but it was a very frustrating season," Mitchell told AFL.com.au last Friday.

 

"Obviously you'd love to be playing senior football every week, but with the amount of depth we have in the midfield it's always going to be a hard thing to hold your spot.

 

"I suppose the main factor [the Swans coaches] wanted me to work on was my fitness, but it was kind of hard to work on since I had injuries. I couldn't run at times and couldn't really do training, and it's hard to get fit obviously when you can't train.

 

"So that was very frustrating and added to the frustration of the whole year."

 

Fortunately, Mitchell, 21, has entered the 2015 pre-season in better health.

 

For the first time since joining the Swans at the 2011 national draft as a father-son pick, Mitchell has been able to complete an off-season running program.

 

Prior to starting pre-season training with the Swans' other first-to-fourth-year players last week, Mitchell had been running for about six weeks.

 

When he stepped out for day one of Swans training last Monday, it was also the first time he had started pre-season training on time.

 

His previous three pre-seasons had been interrupted by an assortment of knee, foot and ankle injuries, but Mitchell says his body is now feeling sound.

 

"It's been a pretty frustrating run, but I'm hoping I can put all that stuff behind me now and I'm just going to try and have a really good pre-season," Mitchell says.

 

"I'm rapt to be injury-free and am really looking forward to getting a lot of training under my belt.

 

"I feel pretty fit and the medical staff and the coaching staff are reasonably happy with the shape I've returned in.

 

"I'm just hoping to get fitter each session, so I can get as fit as I can before the games start and hopefully cement a spot next season."

 

Despite being contracted to end of 2016, Mitchell was linked to Carlton in this year's trade period.

 

Mitchell's father, Barry, is best known for his outstanding 170-game career with the Swans, but he spent the final three seasons of his AFL career at Carlton and later served at Visy Park as an assistant coach.

 

Despite the family connection, Mitchell was never going to join Carlton.

 

The midfielder said at the time he had no interest in leaving the Swans, but equally the Swans – despite their inside midfield riches – had no interest in parting with Mitchell.

 

The Swans' faith in Mitchell is understandable given he was widely expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2011 draft if the Swans hadn't been able to take him as a father-son bargain at pick No.21.

 

Asked if there was even the slightest temptation to move to a team that did not boast midfield depth like Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack, Dan Hannebery, Luke Parker and Jarrad McVeigh, Mitchell was emphatic.

 

"No, it never really crossed my mind to be honest," he said.

 

"I was obviously contracted to the Swans for another two years, so it was never really a possibility, but I'm really happy in Sydney anyway.

 

"I love the Swans and I want to earn my spot here and try and fight my way into the team.

 

"I'm really just looking forward to 2015."