MNFNC – 2025 SEASON PREVIEW
MIRBOO NORTH FOOTBALL NETBALL CLUB – SEASON PREVIEW -
as printed in Mirboo North Times 2/4.
After navigating a challenging 2024 season and building strong foundations, Mirboo North Football Netball Club is awash with positive energy as we head into the 2025 season.
This off-season has been one of positivity, stability, and setting the direction for the next period of sustained success at Tigerland. We have retained almost all our key executive and committee, added some new (almost entirely local) players to the football and netball list, and re-signed our key on-field talent.
One of our biggest challenges last year was fielding an under 18’s team, and with only 5 teams competing in the competition, we weren’t the only ones facing this issue. After some terrific work through the off-season, we have attracted a healthy number of Under 18 players for the upcoming season, and due to some great work by other clubs, we are pleased to have 7 teams competing in 2025.
This season, we have aligned our junior football club more closely with the senior club, emulating the successful blueprint from our netball department. Having the entire senior and junior club together for training on Thursdays will further enhance our family-first culture, and allow our youngest tigers to dream of following in the footsteps of their senior heroes. Thursday night meals were a huge success in 2024, and with the inclusion of our juniors, we are taking this to another level in 2025.
Our club would be nothing without the support of our sponsors. This year we are thrilled to have Narellan Pools Gippsland continue as our Premier Sponsor, and we thank Alex Windsor for his ongoing support. We also welcome a number of first-time major sponsors to the club, including Gippsland Promo Print, Conquer Health Physiotherapy Leongatha, BAMITS and Ravo’s landscape and property maintenance. They join a terrific list of existing major sponsors including Ace Earthmoving, Strzelecki Engineering, AMR Locksmiths, Foodworks Mirboo North, Prolec Solutions, RGM Accountants & Advisors and Stockdale & Leggo Mirboo North. We are deeply grateful for their support and our other signage sponsors, and encourage our community to support these businesses wherever possible.
On the field and court, our pre-season football and netball games against Churchill, Thorpdale and Leongatha have shown the vast improvement we have made throughout the off-season. Both the football and netball teams looked extremely sharp, and well connected as a team. Head coaches Damien Turner and Emily Taylor are looking to implement a fast and free-flowing style of play, which regardless of the results, will be a pleasure for our spectators to witness. Both Damo and Emily are feeling extremely positive about the season ahead, and they are fortunate to be supported by a wonderful group of support staff and coaches.
Several of our young players have also gone on to achieve representative honours for football and netball, including Clancy Snell, Max Woodall, Elli Bickerton and Mia O’Brien (Gippsland Power), Marley Wallace (U17’s state champion for Gippsland), Holly Chila & Charlotte Evans (Netball Victoria Eastern Zone Talent Academy). We congratulate everyone on their achievements, and give thanks to everyone who has played a role in their development.
We have put a lot of work into creating a welcoming atmosphere at Tigerland this season, a place where the community can come together and enjoy each other’s company. We extend a warm welcome to the Mirboo North and surrounding region to join us at Tigerland, with our first home game against Tarwin on Saturday April 26. Come down for a meal and a drink, and enjoy an action-packed day of football and netball. Bring your friends, and make some new ones.
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has put their hand up to contribute to our club this year, and I can’t wait for the season to begin.
Cheers,
Andy McCarthy
President