SOCCER MITCHELL Blake is one of the few local players who can claim to have played for just two clubs in the past 25 years. The 31-year-old’s career kicked off at Lawton Park as a five-year-old defender but he found his football niche eight years later when he switched roles and went up front. That was the trigger for regular Golden Boot awards and the transition from junior to senior football came in spectacular fashion. Current Langwarrin senior assistant Jamie Skelly was coaching Langy’s reserves when Blake was called on. It was an away game against Clifton Hill and the…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER A CRASH course in coping with senior football this year bodes well for Peninsula Strikers’ assault on the 2023 State 2 South-East championship. That’s the belief of Strikers’ defensive midfielder Calvin Delaney. The 20-year-old (he turns 21 on 30 November) was part of a major squad makeover overseen by his father and senior coach Donn during last pre-season and early signs drew derisive commentary from many onlookers. “Of course we heard the criticism but it was way too harsh,” Calvin Delaney said. “Anyway we were too excited about the season and we didn’t care about the negativity. “A lot…
SOCCER MOUNT Eliza and Seaford United will apply to Football Victoria for a place in next season’s State 5 South. Both clubs confirmed their intent last week after the state federation opened the application process outlining the wide-ranging criteria clubs must address in their application. Mount Eliza is the new kid on the block as far as State League status is concerned and club president Justin Sheppard is keen to halt the annual player exodus from its senior squad currently competing under the Bayside Football Association banner. “We keep losing players every year who want to play at a higher…
SOCCER A MULTI-MILLION dollar makeover, new coaches and new players on the way – there’s a quiet revolution underway at Mornington. The Seagulls are major beneficiaries of an $8.5 million redevelopment of Dallas Brooks Park involving four new pitches, new drainage, floodlighting to 200 lux on the main pitch and 100 lux on the other pitches with a new access driveway and car parking. “This redevelopment has been in the works for the last 12 months and we’re rapt that it’s going to go ahead,” Mornington president Matt Cameron said. “The footy oval redevelopment starts first and it’s planned to…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers announced on Friday that they had signed Steve Elliott and Campbell Steedman from Mornington. There’s a sense of unfinished business at Centenary Park after just missing out on promotion from State 2 this year and both new signings are expected to play pivotal roles in the club’s title tilt in 2023. Strikers now have joint senior coaches in Donn Delaney and Scott Morrison with the latter switching from Mornington so he’s well positioned to assess the newcomers. “There’d been initial contact with Campbell before I got involved (with Strikers) but obviously when I got involved it was…