by Rob Popplestone
At the end of 2021, Mirboo North and Hill End were desperate to play just one more game to determine a "more" genuine premier for the Mid Gippsland Football League season.
In the end, Hill End received the rather empty minor premiers tag, but none of the silverware the Rovers have long craved.
This Saturday's clash at Mirboo North could well be seen as an indicator of what "might have" happened and who "might have" won a premiership.
The fact is, however, only four points will be awarded as the first step in a journey that will hopefully provide opportunities lost from a season gone.
Mirboo North coach Josh Taylor said "pre-season has picked up slowly as each week has progressed. Numbers have gotten a lot better in this time also. I wouldn't be surprised to see us a little under done come round one. Blokes have been slow in getting back into footy after the last two years of playing and not playing."
It would be fair to assume no side would be at their very best at seasons start. But against a quality opponent in Hill End, you will need to be better than average.
The 2021 minor premiers will be looking to kick start their year with an early win.
Hill End coach Mike Santo said "we've had a great pre-season and a good preparation with a great hit out in practice games and we played really well."
"Our recruits have played exceptionally well, particularly athletic ruckman Harrison George," Santo added. "There is a great vibe around the group and we can't wait for the season to begin."
A case can be fairly made that this first round match of last year's top two sides might have actually been scheduled at the home ground of Hill End, a fact that has not been lost on coach Mike Santo, who will be wanting his side to send an early message to the league.
Thorpdale v Stony Creek
Two sides that might not have finals as part of their plans in 2022, but certainly would have improvement as a priority.
Stony Creek have flown below the radar in the off-season and its expected some quality players have returned to the pride. That in itself is the first step in a longer journey towards greater success.
Lions coach Jay Acardi says "we have welcomed a number of new faces to playing group over the pre-season and also a few who have played with us previously. We look forward to having the experience and leadership that these players will bring to the field."
"Our pre-season thus far has been reasonably solid with good numbers at training," Acardi added. "As far as where we go this year, (it) will depend on how hard we want to work for it. The only way is up for us."
Thorpdale find themselves in pretty much the same boat, with some rough seas ahead before blue skies.
Thorpdale coach Ray Pickering says "we have a few new recruits and these boys will inject some pace to our young group moving forward."
"We have our largest list since 2018 which is a real positive looking forward. We are just looking to improve our list from 2021 and (be) more competitive each week, which will give us more chances of winning some games. We are still building from a complete fall out in 2019 but we are definitely on the upwards trajectory."
Wins are hard to come by for some clubs, so every opportunity is like gold. There would be nothing better, for either team, than striking it rich in round one.
Boolarra v MDU
Boolarra has been one of a handful of MGFNL clubs working overtime in the off-season to increase its talent pool and form a foundation for a surge further up the ladder.
AFL premiership player Brent Guerra, NGFNL best and fairest Ricky Cochrane, and the likes of Kyle Hearn, Nick and Luke Miller, Ben White, Josh Segond, Luke Marriott, Max Simmonds, Kieran Jones and Ian Pearce all bring something extra and, in some cases, very special to the Demons.
Coach Tony Giardinia, experienced enough to know that having the talent is just the starting point of improved performances, says "pre-season has been good, with good numbers on the track."
"Our expectations are to push the top sides," Giardinia added.
Those goals are realistic and the Demons are in the position to push top sides. They might also be in the position to join top sides at the business end of the year, but that is a way down the track.
They face fellow Demons MDU, who, like Boolarra, are keen to show significant improvement.
MDU coach Peter Harris says "our main aim was to maintain who and what we built last year, whilst adding in some good local talent and young kids from our juniors. The guys we've added will give us more depth around the midfield and some fire power up forward".
"Our expectations for 2022 are to ensure we have a positive environment at all football and netball levels, so we can continue to build the wonderful culture at our club," Harris said. "Everyone wants to obviously make finals, so we will do our best to give ourselves a chance at that, against what looks like some solid competition."
The competition does indeed look extremely strong, quite possibly the strongest it has looked for many years. This in itself is reason to throw your support behind your local team.
Foster v Fish Creek
Local rivalry is what makes local football so great. These two sides have a rivalry that will ignite again in 2022.
Rumours have suggested Foster might not be as strong as we've come to expect. But when it comes to rumours, believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. You can bet the Tigers will come to play.
Foster's Sam Davies says "we have kept a pretty stable team from last year - not really losing anyone and not looking to recruit heavily. The focus will be on getting more games into the juniors that played regularly last season. Three of them have made the Gippsland Power squad in Lachie Rathjen, Zane Duursma and Oliver Lemchens, so we are looking forward to showing them off when they aren't playing for Power."
"It's probably been one of the harder pre-seasons to motivate everyone post-COVID and the shambles of last season," Davies said. "But fingers crossed we, as a league, can get an uninterrupted run at it this year."
Like Foster, Fish Creek too will look to their younger brigade to take the next step.
Fish Creek's Johnny Danckert said "we have managed to bring a couple of home grown boys back home in Ryan and Matthew McGannon, both have experienced higher levels of footy and the club are thrilled to welcome them back. Pat Pekin another well credentialed player will bolster up our backline."
"We have plenty of young guys coming through, which is exciting for us," Danckert added. "They will improve with every game they play. There is a real hunger amongst the boys to be playing finals footy."
Foster and Fish Creek are two sides you might expect to be part of finals footy, but the reality is there are likely nine maybe 10 teams capable of consideration and only five spots available.
Finals footy is certainly what all 13 clubs will be aiming for, but just having footy back is satisfying for most at this early stage.
Newborough v Toora
Tipped to be one of the big improvers on the back of some impressive off-season recruiting, Newborough will hope to kick start its season with a win over the visiting Toora.
It seems the Bulldogs have carefully put together the right people in positions both on and off the field. Returning from Moe are Hayden Prestige, Jayden Van Dyk, Zac Skinner and Josh Pearce via Gormandale. Also returning from Morwell are Josh Hecker, Wade Anderson, Liam and Pat Charles.
But it's pressure that determines whether the right decisions have been made and pressure is what they can expect this week.
Newborough coach Craig Skinner says "I want to help return Newborough to the successful club I grew up with, and believe history has a way of repeating itself. Mid Gippy clubs seem to have all been more active in recruiting so it will be hard to know exactly what to expect from all clubs."
Toora have appointed Matt Ponton as 2022 coach and he has wasted no time in securing the right players to the club
"A few recruits that we picked up that I'm really excited about," Ponton said. "Jake McFarland, he is a really skilled outside midfielder with good running ability. I really think he will add class to the outside of our midfield. Mason O'Sullivan is another that will add class and gut running to our midfield group. He is a highly skilled player that loves playing both ways."
"Kristain Harper, a tall full forward who we expect to be our main avenue to goals, has the skills of a midfielder at 6'5," Ponton added. "Ethan Pearce, an athletic back with a high competitive drive who has the strength and speed to match any key forward."
The Magpies have their sights set on creating a winning culture, with the clubs new motto "winning is standard" sure to be tested on the Bulldogs home ground.
Yinnar v Tarwin
A really interesting match up this one, with not a lot of intel received from either during the off-season.
Yinnar, more times than not, will have done what is needed to be done to insure they will be finals contenders at seasons end. But this new look and very much improved competition is going to give most coaches headaches at some stage during the year.
Yinnar coach Daniel Taylor says "we have new recruits Zac Cantrill, Dean Johnson and Jacob Hibbert. Dean brings a lot of senior experience which is what we were after and Zac and Jacob are locals returning to the club."
"The pre-season has been pretty good with consistent numbers throughout the summer," Taylor said. "With a good mix of experience and youth, the aim is to play finals footy this year."
Tarwin, under new coach Troy Hemming, have a very simple and clear plan.
"Sitting down with Tom our president, I wanted local people that just want to be at the club," Hemming said. "Pre-season has been great fun. All the boys have brought into the game plan and love it. What you will see this season is all the boys loving the contest and most of all loving their footy."
Loving footy is a great starting point not only for the Sharks but for everyone involved in the MGFNL.
The competition is a good one, maybe the best its been for over a decade, with the 13 teams invested both in their local communities and the greater competition.
Bye: Morwell East
With the bye, Morwell East will have a bit of extra time to refine with some new faces joining the group.
Devon Soutar of Morwell East said "we've had a big focus on fast-tracking connection and building clarity in our method. The apparent even nature of the comp gives you no margin for error so you'll have to be ready every week, that's our challenge."
Recruits are Lucas Towns - experienced defender returning to the club after successful stint with Churchill; Isaac Abas - experienced ruckman with midfielder like athleticism, Matt Coutts - strong and aggressive key forward capable of quickly changing a game; Will Kennedy - young and smart medium sized midfielder/defender with Gippsland League; Patrick Quinn - genuine utility with elite speed in both offensive and defensive modes; Kye Farley - hard-nosed small midfielder/forward with a game based on providing bulk pressure; and Nik Kyriacou - young, mobile and capable of playing anywhere. Strong overhead and can find the footy.