36 DAYS TO GO | EFNL Media will be previewing each club ahead of the 2020 season with the #InFocus2020 series, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water & Choose Tap.
By: Steve White
SEASON 2019 was a memorable one, to say the least, for the Mitcham Football Club.
The Tigers finished third on the ladder and landed a finals berth with 12 wins and five losses in the regular season, after playing some exciting footy in a tightly-contested Division 2.
East Burwood Reserve then delivered a string of classics for the yellow and black in the post-season.
A thrilling seven-point elimination final win over Heathmont in extra-time was followed up by an 18-point preliminary final upset of Boronia, who had beaten them in both encounters during the season.
However, the Tigers saved the best for last.
Mitcham captured the 2019 Division 2 premiership in the most dramatic fashion possible.
A Ringwood kick after the final siren that fell agonisingly short delivered the club’s first flag since 2015 and sent the club to Division 1 by just two points over the Redbacks, in what was arguably the game of the season.
The Tigers came from 39 points down at quarter time to snare the 2019 Division 2 premiership. PHOTO: Davis Harrigan
Although last September is now in the rear-view mirror, fast forward to February and senior coach Neil Winterton has his troops hard at work on the training track.
Preparations have begun in earnest for Mitcham’s return to Division 1 after being relegated from the second tier in 2018.
“We’ve had a really good pre-season – the numbers are up around the 40 mark pretty much every night,” Winterton said.
“The boys understand that jumping up a division isn’t an easy task and they’ve put their head down, worked really hard and left no stone unturned to get the best out of this season.”
Mitcham has re-signed all 22 premiership players for its 2020 campaign – a rarity in modern football at any level.
The Tigers will look to draw upon their core of talented youth that delivered them success in 2019, to again lead the charge into 2020.
2019 senior best and fairest winner Will Gordon returns along with fellow 2019 SEN Division 2 Team of the Year representative and spearhead Jake Parente.
They’re joined again by Jesse Cherry, Jessie Smyth, Anthony Willenberg, Riley Nicholas, Zak Carroll and a slew of others.
Parente celebrates a goal in last year’s Division 2 grand final. PHOTO: Davis Harrigan
“Re-signing everyone from the premiership side was our first priority,” Winterton said.
“You see a lot of times when sides win a premiership that players leave because they don’t want the challenge of playing up a division. That’s certainly not the case with us and all the boys have signed on.”
In addition to the returning cast, the club has also snared Alex Barton-Smith from Ferntree Gully.
21-year old Barton-Smith was best and fairest at the Eagles in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named to the SEN Division 3 Team of the Year last season.
“He’s going to be a really quality addition for us and there are a number of other players looking to get into the senior team this year,” Winterton said.
Aside from the mainstays of the first 22, there are a number of players knocking on the door from the under-19s team looking to play more senior football this year, with EFNL under-19s Division 2 best and fairest winner Josh Valle and a number of others firmly in the mix.
“He (Valle) has had a really good pre-season. He’s a big, strong body and he’s looked good in training so far,” Winterton said.
“Tommy Stingell, who played a handful of games for us last season, we also expect to be a regular player for us.
“I don’t want to single too many players out but I expect a lot of players from the ’19s will put their hand up to play senior footy this year.”
“We found with the team being really young last year that we’ve also taken a really big step forward this year and we grew as a side right throughout the season.”
“The team that played in the first week of the finals compared to the team that played in the grand final grew so much and we expect that to continue.”
Division 1 was arguably the closest and least predictable of all divisions in 2019 and Winterton expects that to continue this year.
“I think this division is going to be really tight this year, as it was last year. Croydon you would expect to be the team to beat, they really went up a level last year,” he said.
“In terms of our expectations, we haven’t really put a finger on where we’d like to finish on the ladder.
“The first thing when you jump up a division is that you just really want to be competitive every week – that wasn’t the case when we got relegated two years ago.
“The kids we have now have a lot more experience of senior footy under their belt, so it’s going to be really exciting seeing these guys step up and challenge themselves in a higher division.”
In what is becoming somewhat of a trend in recent times, Mitcham has joined the ranks of local clubs receiving vital upgrades to their facilities. Walker Park is currently undergoing an internal refit and hopes to be ready in time for bounce-down in Round 1 and the unveiling of the all-important 2019 premiership flag.
Mitcham opens its season against East Ringwood at Walker Park on Saturday, April 4.