By Aaron Kirkby-Rodier(@AzKirkby9)
“I originally started my juniors at Mount Evelyn.”
“By the end of under 10s I had moved to Ringwood, I played there till under 14s and I was pretty well invested in that club.”
Leigh Odermatt would make a move and play for a club which many guns of EFL have played junior football with.
“Come under 15s I decided to go and play with Park Orchards with a few mates and we had a pretty good side that year. We ended up winning the flag so that was a good season.”
Despite Odermatt’s natural ability for the game he would give it away before his under 16 season.
“I took under 16s off, I just wasn’t that interested in football for some reason.”
With Odermatt not playing football he was contacted by the club where he would make his name.
“The Heathmont under 18s coach had got my number off somebody at Park Orchards and he kept hassling me to come down so I did.”
“I had a massive family connection with Heathmont, my grandfather and uncles are life members and my dad had played footy there as well.”
Odermatt joining Heathmont would prove to be a great get for the club in years to come but he would have to be content playing in a position that EFL fans aren’t familiar with him playing.
“My first year in under 18s I played full back and thought to myself I don’t want to be doing this for the rest of my career so during that summer I really tried get myself a bit fitter and leaner and tried to become a midfielder.”
During his second season with Heathmont he would gain that extra time in the midfield, but a dream of Odermatt’s would take him away from the Heathmont Football Club.
“Id always wanted to join the army so at 19 I decided to go and do that. I basically just played footy sporadically in Townsville and Brisbane at that stage.”
Odermatt would return to Melbourne and play football with Heathmont in 2008 but it would take some convincing.
“I came back to live in Melbourne out of the army and basically I was heavily focused on cricket and not really that excited about playing football. “
Odermatt’s love of cricket was evident having played it most of his life and living the dream of playing in England.
“The coach at Heathmont called me and they had just lost the grand final the year before, he kept calling and calling and he finally got me down there.”
What a year 2008 would be for the Heathmont Football Club and Odermatt remembers it fondly.
“For me 2008 really reinvigorated football for me and probably where im at with football and how much I love it now was because of that year.”
“During the home and away season we went 16-2 and ended up winning the flag by 3 points in a heartstopper.”
The Jets would find themselves in Division 3 but it wouldn’t be smooth sailing.
“We went up to Division 3 and got a bit of a rude awakening, we had injuries and things didn’t go our way and we ended up going straight back down.”
Fast forward to 2011 and the Jets would be contending again with Odermatt one of many leading the charge towards Division 3.
“Lucky enough in 2011 to keep the nucleas of that 2008 premiership team together and added 3 players to that team like McDermott, Sheen and Hickey.”
“Ended up winning the flag in Division 4 again in extra time by 7 points against Glen Waverley.”
After beating the Hawks and winning the clubs second premiership in 4 years Odermatt felt Heathmont were better prepared to tackle Division 3 the second time around.
“Went back up to Division 3 again and I guess this time we were more confident. We had a lot stronger list than what we had gone up with last time as well.”
“We did quite well we finished a game or two out from playing finals that year.”
At the end of 2012 it was time for Odermatt to say goodbye to the H.E. Parker Reserve.
“I really, really enjoyed my time at Heathmont, I still keep in contact with all the boys.”
“I sort of felt that at the end of 2012 that a lot of my mates had retired, Pete Forsyth had retired and I thought maybe its my time to try something different. Not that I thought the grass was greener on the other side or anything like that.”
Odermatt would make the trip up the mountain to South Belgrave who were challenging in Division 4.
“I knew Nick Cox quite well, I gave him a call and went a saw South Belgrave lose the grand final to The Basin and saw the look on the guys faces and thought id really like to be a part of trying to turn that around.”
Despite not being far away the change of scenery was significant for Odermatt.
“Going to South Belgrave was a massive change, it’s not that far away but it’s just a different feel. I really felt that the first night we went for a road run and people were yelling encouragement from their house.”
South Belgrave would go one better in 2013 by winning the Division 4 Premiership with Odermatt the best of field.
“All flags are amazing but 2013 was a dream because we were undefeated champions. We were tested at different times over the season and obviously in the grand final as well”
“We always found a way to get the job done and that was because of the confidence we had in each other as a team.”
To date Odermatt has won 3 Premierships in the EFL and will continue to push for more with the Saints. A true superstar of the league.
“All the guys I won flags with, you might not see them for years but you’ll always have that premiership bond and nobody can take that away. Its what I love about local footy.”
