By Josh Ward.
The Tigers men’s side will face a new challenge as the club returns to the Premier Division whilst its women will be looking to build on a promising end to 2024.
Mitcham’s men’s side return to the top flight following back-to-back flags in Division 1, defeating Park Orchards in last year’s decider by 39 points.
Four-time premiership coach Neil Winterton is set to enter his 11th season as the Tigers head coach, saying the return to Premier Division has brought a sense of excitement around the club.
“To be able to win the flag last year and get back into Premier, I know the past players were around when we were playing Premier Division and are excited to see us back there and are looking forward to Round 1,” Winterton said.
“And the players, who’ve been working really hard over the years to get us back there are excited for the challenge ahead.”
There’s also some excitement that surrounds the playing group as they prepare for a new challenge for themselves.
“Every week we will be playing a finals calibre team for Division 1. They’re really embracing that challenge, they’ve put in a really good preseason.”
Majority of last year’s premiership squad has re-signed, however they will be without Jessie Smyth and Guy Laughlin who’ve departed for Ferntree Gully and Western Australia respectively.
They’ve topped up with some handy inclusions, with Jack Kritopolous crossing from local rivals Blackburn while Michael Rogers and Liam Hewish join from Southern top flight club Bentleigh.
“Jack’s played at Blackburn his whole career so he understands what the division’s about and has had a taste of it…
“Rogers was the captain of (Bentleigh) so his leadership has been good, he’s been really driving standards. To add those experienced heads to the group has been really valuable.”
Recently they’ve been able to sign Box Hill Hawks-listed duo Will Kellar and Max Donohue whilst Lachlan McBride has also crossed from New Zealand.
“We hope for (Will and Max)’s sake that we never see them and that they’re playing VFL footy every week, but we know whenever we do get them they’re going to add some class and talent to the mix.
“We’ll let (Lachie) find his feet, but we’ve already seen he’s super fit, he moves really well. He’s going to be a valuable addition for us, but there’s no pressure on him.”
Some new recruits have also impressed on the track, including ex-Blackburn player Joel Carter and Emi Aleixo, who’s come across from Croydon.
“Joel’s fitness levels are through the roof, he’s our best runner so I’m interested to see how he goes. And Emi as well, he’s been really impressive in our match simulation.
“Nat Barnes as well, although he’s had a modified preseason at stages with shin splints, he’s super fit and has been impressive in match sim too.”
As the group heads into familiar yet unknown territory, Winterton says there isn’t any major expectation as of yet.
“Hopefully we have some luck with injury. But we’ll back ourselves in to be a winning chance every week and we’ll just see what happens.”
The Tigers kick off its return to Premier Division with a standalone matchup on Sunday April 13th against local rivals Vermont at Walker Park.
“It was a massive rivalry 20+ years ago, these two teams used to really go at it. It’s good to renew that rivalry, there’s no better way to kick off the season than unveiling the flag against Vermont.”
On the other hand its women’s side will return to Division 3 this coming season after a promising 2024 season in the division which saw them win five games.
Jess Grace returns for a third season as playing coach, saying the group is raring to go ahead of another season.
“There’s been so much development last year through to this season, we’ve picked up a few new girls which is good,” Grace said.
Majority of the new players into the group are new to footy whilst Katarina Currey comes across from North Ringwood.
The development of the group hasn’t just been through their inclusion, but also a different preparation this preseason.
“Last year there was a fair bit of talk through the group about what hadn’t happened (in 2023) and what we wanted to do with our season rather than focusing week-by-week.
“This preseason we’re going back to basics, we’re working on our structures, the way we move the footy and (will be) focusing one game at a time as we get into the season.”
There’s been plenty of players that’ve impressed so far in the preseason, including Division 3 leading goalkicker Georgia Fairbairn, Meg Fogarty and Danielle Fletcher.
“We’ve also had a few girls come back after not playing last season. To get them back through the side is exciting.”
They’ll be further boosted by juniors once again this season, with the Tigers getting an Under 18 side on the park alongside East Ringwood and a Under 16 team again.
“Our Under 16s are training with us at the moment, we’ve got a fair bit of talent coming through our junior system.
“The (Under 18s) are training at the same venue and same time as us on a Thursday so we’ve been finishing most of our training sessions with them with a block of match sim.”
With a strong and different preseason under the belt and the talent coming through, Grace says the group can perform at their best each week.
“We had a little bit of a lull in the middle of last year, but we didn’t back down and give up hope, we reset ourselves and we came out pretty strong against some of those top sides and changed the top four a little bit.
“We definitely have the belief in ourselves that we can perform and get to where we want to be.”
Mitcham kicks off its season with a matchup against 2024 preliminary finalists Heathmont at H.E. Parker Reserve, a side they defeated towards the end of last year.
“(The girls) have been waiting for Round 1 no matter who we play and the fact that it is Heathmont, a side we are quite familiar with, is an added bonus.”