EFNL football is back.
Saturday was the end of our awfully long wait to see local football back in the eastern suburbs and it did not disappoint.
We had a couple of premiership favourites stumble at the first hurdle, a club games record broken and a draw.
Even the horrible conditions couldn’t dampen our spirits as our beloved weekend afternoons were now back to being fulfilled as the sounds of football returned across the weekend.
It won’t take long for that warm fuzzy feeling to dissipate though and the cutthroat approach to EFNL footy will return, and here at In + Under we’ll be ready with talking points from each weekends action.
This week – Boronia make a statement, the community becomes whole again and should a Mitcham veteran make the move forward?
Forward Thinking
Mitcham came away from Saturday on top of the world. The promoted Tigers won all three games against Wantirna South to start their 2021 season, with the senior side working their way back into the game after a very slow start, dominating the contested ball in the second half to overcome a new look – and fancied – Devils side.
A key part of their come from behind victory was they second half performance of veteran coach Neil Winterton. The ex-Mulgrave and Bayswater midfielder relishes the tough side of the game and was crucial in helping Mitcham gain control in the middle of the ground as the game went on, especially as the conditions negated any chance of free flowing football from either side and the fatigue started to hit.
Moving forward however, I think Winterton could best serve his side playing a higher percentage of the game in the front half, especially when the Tigers roll into some of the bigger grounds in the division like Bayswater, Croydon and Upper Ferntree Gully, where the space should suit the Tigers younger midfielders.
He produced a piece of wonderful forward craft in the third quarter to hit the scoreboard, getting to right spot to hit the ball at pace, wheel around and snap one through, he is a very strong tackler- which would help the Tigers forward pressure – and is surprisingly strong overhead given his heigh.
All those qualities are those of a good forward half player in the modern era.
The multiple premiership winner has always had an eye for goal anyway. He averages 0.625 goals per game at Tigerland, kicking 60 across his 90+ games in yellow and black, whilst at Mulgrave and Bayswater he found the sticks more than once a game on average.
This hypothetical move could help prolong his time on the park as well, with the 38 year old likely to wake up a little less sore should his midfield minutes diminish, and I’m sure everyone at Mitcham wants to see the number 32 running around the MCG of the East for as long as possible.
Could Mitcham coach Neil Winterton make the move forward?
2. Hawks Talk
Boronia really wanted to get out on the park in 2020.
The Hawks were one of a handful of clubs that trained as much as physically (and legally) possible in 2020, in the hope they would get a chance to avenge their disappointing end to 2019, where they went from finishing top of the Division Two ladder to Mad Monday in the matter of two weeks.
Well they’ve certainly hit the ground running in 2021. The Hawks travelled across to Knox Gardens to take on the recently relegated Falcons, a side expected to be more than competitive in 2021 given they won six games in Division One, a volume of wins that would usually keep you safe. The Falcons had also added a number of quality players and picked up ex Hawthorn utility Brendan Whitecross as senior coach.
Under a new leadership group, the 2018 premiers controlled the match from go to woe, keeping Knox to just 1.3 in the second half of the game as they cruised through to a resounding 49 point victory.
Such was their dominance, the Hawks had 24 scoring shots to the Falcons 10, and they found eight goal kickers across the afternoon. Plus, their new leadership group – Harry Burgess, Ryan White and Luke Hannon – all appeared in the best players, whilst returning club favourite Jess Bolton also marked the occasion with an appearance in the best six.
South Belgrave and Ringwood might have made the most headlines with their more eye catching score lines, but Boronia might have been the biggest winners in Division Two on the weekend as they look for redemption in 2021.
Boronia brushed Knox aside on the weekend.
3. Community Contentment
How bloody good was it to be back
The buzz around the ground.
The burning feeling on the roof of your mouth after the first bite of that meat pie.
The jumper presentations. The post goal celebrations. The banging of fence hoardings.
The happy conversations. The packed social rooms after the game.
The heavy hits, the diving smothers, the high flies, the chase down tackles, the crucial goals.
The comebacks, the flag unfurlings, the games record holders.
The local community was whole once again on Saturday and Sunday as everyone returned to their local football clubs, and you could see it on people’s faces as they caught up with old friends, cheered on their sides and rode the emotional waves that sport provides us with.
Boronia coach Matt Clark put it best when he spoke on EFNL Sunday.
“Driving to the ground, I think everyone was nervous, rusty and the games are going to be scrappy early on (in the season),”
“But the best thing was, was to see how many supporters were there, how many smiling faces were there and what football means to everyone, from the person who’s running the canteen to the person who just wants to go down and watch their niece, nephew, son or daughter,”
“(Football) plays such an important part in our community, just for your wellbeing and your mental health,”
“And what it did highlight for me, is how important people are to you, I missed football, but I missed the physical connection you get with the players and the committee and the supporters.”
“That was the biggest part for me.”
