By Josh Ward.
It was a year of much growth for Mulgrave in 2022 and they’ll look to develop even more this coming season in Division 2.
After a tough few years, the Lions showed signs of improvement in 2022. Despite finishing in eighth they finished with seven wins and 11 losses, including winning both matches against premiers South Belgrave.
They’ll be under new leadership this coming season, with Mulgrave games record holder and 2022 Under 19s coach Matt Richards to take over following the departure of Ryan Webster. Richards recently said that there he’s excited to lead the Lions from the coaches box.
“It’s a family club, my wife’s involved, my son’s playing Under 19’s so for me there was nowhere else I was gonna be involved. The time was right where I could tap in to get a few past players back to help me as assistant coaches,” Richards said.
Richards added that there was an excited buzz around the club, with plenty of players already coming to pre-season training.
“Numbers are through the roof at training, which is typical when clubs look like they’re on the improve, guys don’t want to miss out. They’ve been really good at training and away we go from there.”
Majority of the young playing list has signed on, with only Nathan Lee and Michael Hough departing, with Richards happy that most of the homegrown talent had signed on for another season at Mulgrave Reserve.
“We’re really lucky, they’re all mates and they’ve all come through either the local schools, the local junior club (Glen Waverley Rovers) which I think is pretty unique. We try and really tap into (the fact) that it’s their club, and that’s helping with the numbers.”
This season though the Lions will be bolstered by the inclusion of ex-Western Bulldogs stars Lin Jong and Fletcher Roberts.
Jong returns to his home club after a year with Northern league club Montmorency following 65 games with the Dogs plus two VFL premierships whilst Roberts joins after two seasons with Port Melbourne as well as 51 games and the 2016 premiership with the Bulldogs.
“You get your occasional AFL player that’ll come through clubs at different stages, but to get two together who are mates it’s massive,” Richards said.
“Lin knew a lot of the players, having grown up with a lot of them like captain Sam Kassianou, who’s his best mate. That’s how we knew we were getting him back.
“Fletcher’s really made the effort to get to know everyone and has been outstanding. He’s a classic individual, he trains the house down but he’s extremely giving, trying to get around, I don’t even think he’s missed a session yet.”
Majority of the 19s from 2022 have signed on following a Grand Final appearance last year, with Richards adding that there could be one who makes an impact at senior level.
“We’ve got Manny Sarkissian, the year before he was the leading goalkicker at bottom age, he’s had a cracking preseason. He’s desperate to join his brother (Evan), who’s in the seniors.”
And with the inclusion of Jong and Roberts as well as a majority of the list from 2022 signing on for another year, Richards has hopes that the side can go one step better than they did last year.
“We want to get to the finals, we want to play after the regular season, which we haven’t done in a while. That’s what our goal is at the moment, it’s as simple as that…
“We just want to get to finals to start with and then reassess come (that time). But yeah the main focus is getting there.”
