By Matt Fotia
Croydon North MLOC’s victory over fellow Division Four strugglers Nunawading at the weekend might have been a surprise to most neutrals scanning the scores on Saturday night or Sunday morning, but for the KangaRams it was no shock, with glimpses of this performance popping up sporadically throughout the early rounds of the season.
It has been a lean run for Croydon North MLOC since their inception in 2019, after Mount Lilydale Old Collegians – competing in the bottom division of the VAFA – and the Croydon North Veterans decided to come together at the end of 2018 and moved into the Eastern Football Netball Leagues bottom tier.
They finished rock bottom of the ladder in 2019, as many expected, with a number of massive losses across their winless season. There was optimism heading into this season with a round one match up against Kilsyth, but a 104 point loss followed.
The KangaRams weren’t going to let an opportunity to claim their first win slip this time around.
They had 10 scoring shots in the opening term to jump out to a 33 point lead (35-2), before ramming home their advantage in the second quarter, doubling their score whilst keeping the Lions to just one behind, setting up a second half somewhat akin to Richmond in the 2019 Grand Final, where the result was already assured and it was merely about soaking the enormity of it all in.
Sam Currie, Luke Malmborg and Daniel Clark were named their three best players whilst Matthew Hayhurst and skipper Samuel D’Argenio booted three majors in the landmark victory. Ex Bayswater man Zac Leacy also continued his consistent start to the year, kicking a goal and appearing in the best players for the fourth time this season.
Speaking on EFNL Sunday, post some no doubt lengthy celebrations, captain Samuel D’Argenio described the relief that swept through the club post game.
“The first word that comes to mind is relief, obviously it’s been a tough couple of years, and we’ve had some pretty big losses, but to get a win yesterday and celebrate it with the whole club and committee was really rewarding,”
“We went from only having 30 or so for the (post game) function to a room full of people and everyone getting it around it.”
The weekends performance against Nunawading was only somewhat surprising in terms of the end result, with the main shock for onlookers the utter dominance of the KangaRams in the first half.
D’Argenio says that whilst the scoreboard has been disheartening on more than one occasion this year, there have been signs that this performance was just around the corner.
“It’s been about focusing on those small wins, whether it’s just winning a quarter or five minute patches here and there,”
“In our season so far, we’ve had glimpses of that – so going into the game we all saw it as a big chance to put in a four quarter effort.”
“Before the game in the warm up and when Mark (Holly – Senior Coach) was addressing us, I could just tell around the room that everyone was really switched on and ready to play their role.”
D’Argenio went on to explain how tough the early days of the merger had been on field, before noting that the individuals and environment at the club will hold it in good stead for the future.
“It was hard work trying to get a senior team up when the merge happened a few years ago, but look we’ve just had people who have either not played footy before or haven’t played for a few years message the club and come down,”
“Last year – in the COVID season – we got three or four guys who had played senior footy who could help bring some of the younger guys along and again this year we got a few added to that list,”
“That just helps with guidance on the field… and even at training lifting that intensity and expectation, which has been very helpful.”
“It’s a really welcoming club which has made it a lot easier to be around.”
D’Argenio was more than ready to praise the efforts and ability of his coach – whose spot he was taking on the EFNL Sunday program – when prompted by the hosts.
“He’s a character,”
“He was getting around everyone last night and really enjoyed himself,”
“He’s worked really hard the last few years, so to have a win yesterday and see how happy that’s made him was really, really worth it.”