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By: Daniel Cencic
MITCHAM’s young playing list is set to be bolstered by experienced recruits this season.
Senior coach Neil Winterton has been proactive in bringing in seasoned performers off the back of its 2018 campaign which saw the Tigers record three wins, 14 losses and a draw after a spate of key departures at the end of 2017.
“We obviously targeted some areas that we thought we needed to improve, and with a young list last year, it was a real learning curve but it was great that it gave these young kids plenty of senior experience and they’re only going to be better for that with another pre-season,” Winterton said.
“Our best and fairest, runner-up and third place all could have played under-19 footy last year.”
Arriving at Walker Park is classy midfielder Zak Carroll, crossing over from Norwood.
27-year-old Carroll brings a wealth of experience, playing 92 senior games for the Norsemen between 2010-2013 and 2017-18, and 54 senior games for Doncaster from 2014-2016.
Carroll in action for Norwood. PHOTO: Chris Eastman/AAP
“I’d played against Zak previously when he was at Doncaster when I was coaching Bayswater and I rated him really highly,” Winterton said.
“I had a crack at him last pre-season because I noticed he probably wasn’t getting the chances he deserved and he said he was going to give it another year because they got a new coach and it probably went the same for him again.
“I got in contact with him again and he was keen to come on-board.
“He’s been a huge get for us, he’s a big-bodied, clean, skilful midfielder.
“You can just see at training that he’s obviously bringing that Division 1 experience and standing out a lot.”
Following Carroll from the Norsemen to the Tigers is ruckman Connor O’Sullivan, along with 23-year-old onballer Jarrod West who looks set for more senior opportunities this year.
O’Sullivan played in Norwood’s 2014 Division 1 senior premiership as a 19-year-old, also boasting prior experience at the Box Hill Hawks in the VFL.
“He (Connor) is coming back off an injury so he hasn’t been able to do a lot of the pre-season and has just got himself going in the last week or so,” Winterton said.
“He potentially could be one of the best players in the division, given his background (and) he’s still only 24, so as a ruckman he’s coming into his prime.
“He oozes leadership the way he goes about things.
“It’s going to be really exciting to get him up and going because I think he’s going to add a lot to the team.”
The club has retained its list heading into 2019 and is set to compete in the EFL’s Division 2 under the competition restructure.
With the Tigers looking to return to finals for the first time since 2015, Winterton believes it’s going to be a tight race to the business end of the season.
“If you have a look at all the divisions, I truly believe this (Division 2) will be the tightest one,” he said.
“It’s going to be a really tough competition and there’s not going to be any easy games.”
Meanwhile, the Walker Park reconstruction is in full swing this season, with the club receiving a full refurbishment of its change-rooms and social club.
The change-rooms will be upgraded to become more female-friendly to help manage growing numbers of participation, while the social club upgrade will result in an elevated viewing room with full views of the oval.
The Tigers will operate out of portables for the duration of the project.
The Walker Park upgrade comes off the back of a $400,000 grant from the federal member for Deakin, Michael Sukkar MP, a $100,000 grant from AFL Victoria and a significant contribution from the Whitehorse City Council.
Mitcham begins the 2019 season when it plays Scoresby in Round 1 on Saturday, April 6.
