Goal-kicking machine: Chris Nield was brilliant up forward for Mooroopna, kicking a league-high 82 goals last season.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
We are barely into April, but for sports fans, it already feels like it is Christmas.
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Why? Because the Goulburn Valley League is set to kick off the 2023 season on Friday night.
For sports enthusiasts everywhere, there is no better time of year than when a new season comes around.
But it isn’t just fans who get excited, the players are too – just ask Mooroopna key forward Chris Nield.
Nield spearheaded the Cats’ forward line last year, booting a remarkable 82 goals to take home the O’Toole Cup as the league’s leading goal-kicker.
“There is no better feeling than knowing you've got a game of footy coming up during the week,” Nield said.
“When you are working away on Monday, Tuesday and you know Saturday is coming, especially for me, it's what I look forward to each week.
“It's going to be awesome to get the season rolling. I can't wait to get back into it and I'm sure that's how everyone else is feeling.”
The Cats will kick off their new campaign when they take on Shepparton Swans under lights at the Cattery on Saturday night, a tantalising clash between two teams who have their eyes set on a top-six finish.
Mooroopna finished fifth on the ladder, with the Swans just outside the finals spots in eighth last season.
The Swans will be bolstered by a trio of ex-North Melbourne players this season – Sam Wright, Nathan Hrovat and Jamie Macmillan – under the tutelage of new coach Jedd Wright, who coached at Katamatite in 2022.
“The Swans are a very similar team to us, they have a lot of young talent,” Nield said.
“Now that Jedd has come across and brought in some North Melbourne experience, I'd say they are definitely going to be a lot stronger and a lot tougher to beat.
“I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good test and I think everyone's looking forward to seeing where they're at.”
Tussle: Mooroopna's Liam Betson battles for position against his Mansfield opponent.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Looking back to move forward
The Cats were one of the feel-good stories of the 2022 season, recording a memorable last-round win over eventual premier Echuca to punch their ticket to the finals for the first time since 2014.
But after beating Rochester in an elimination final, their post-season campaign came to an end a fortnight later after a disappointing 15-point defeat to Mansfield when the Cats blew a four-goal half-time lead.
Nield said Mooroopna had plenty to learn from the win over the Murray Bombers and that loss to the Eagles.
“The highlight of last year would have to be the Echuca game. That's when I felt like we were playing our best footy,” he said.
“That Mansfield game was probably the worst. I'm not sure if the finals sort of put us off, but either way, I just put it down to learning.
“It's a motivator. It's we know we didn't play how we wanted to play. We didn't kick any goals in the first quarter. We came back and were in front by a few, and then just went downhill from there in that third and fourth quarter.
‘’It is definitely motivating to know how close we got to being able to actually get into that grand final. Especially coming fifth or sixth, you don't get that second chance, it is do or die.
“It has definitely pushed the team to realise that you need to make the most of those opportunities because they don't really come too often.”
On the lookout: Mooroopna’s Dom Gugliotti assesses his option as he looks for a teammate.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
'This year, something's coming’
With a core group of young players coming through its ranks, Nield said he was incredibly optimistic about the direction Mooroopna was heading in.
“I honestly feel like this year, something's coming. We're definitely going to be up there,“ he said.
After a tough run in the past decade that at one point where Mooroopna won just eight games across four seasons, Nield said there was one key element that he believed would carry the club forward.
“It is honestly the local boys and the local players that are sticking strong. When I got to the club, I didn't realise how poor results had been in a way.
‘’But then it's good to have these boys that have sort of been through that and are now sort of seeing the light.
‘’They put in a lot of effort. They're down in the gym every night ... they're working on those little things and they are using each other as as motivators to help push each other.
“I think over the next few years they are definitely going to be leading the club even further.”
