Mitch Wallis continued his footballing apprenticeship on Saturday in Launceston when given the task of negating Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge.

The 20-year-old was diligent in his role, restricting the Hawks veteran to 18 possessions and two goals, while finding the ball 15 times himself.

“Mitch Wallis was the man this week to go Luke Hodge, which we thought was a great experience for him and a task that he really did a good job at,” Development Coach Ashley Hansen said.

“We needed someone with the flexibility to go with him at half back or half forward if he is going to take himself there to try to break the tag - we thought Mitch has that versatility.”

Curbing Hodge’s influence for much of the game, Wallis managed 15 possessions at an impressive 93.3% disposal efficiency.

“For him to go at that high efficiency rate is something that he should be proud of because he has been working really hard on his decision making and his efficiency,” he said.

Hansen said accepting a tagging role on one of the competition’s elite can provide a valuable development tool for Wallis, learning the finer points of the game first hand, while honing his defensive craft.

“It was pivotal in the game… even though he kicked that miraculous goal Hodgey, Wallis really stuck to the task and really learnt a lot out of it,” he said.

Wallis’ ability to run and spread offensively, even when tagging was also a positive of Saturday’s clash against Hawthorn.

“When you are tagging it is really important to have that two way running as a part of your game,” he said.

“As much as you are a defensive player and you are trying to nullify the impact of their performance, we want you going the other way and really being an offensive weapon and making their main attacking weapon then think defensively too.”

“So for Mitch to try to exploit Luke going the other way, was part of the game plan.”