VFL 2024: Michael Manteit reflects on his journey to 100 games with Southport Sharks
Michael Manteit has only had one mentor across his 100-game state league career with Southport, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Inside his journey.
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Michael Manteit and Steve Daniel.
The pair began their Southport Sharks careers together, and seven years later they will have both ticked over the coveted 100-game milestone with the club when Manteit runs out against the Swans in front of his home crowd on Saturday.
Both Manteit and Daniel joined the Sharks amid a heavy rebuild in 2018 and tasted immediate premiership success in the now defunct NEAFL competition.
“It is special, and I feel like it’s even more special that ‘SJ’ (Steve Daniel) and I came together, every game I’ve been coached by him,” Manteit said, lauding the club’s off-field stability in his seven seasons there.
“He’s the best local coach in Australia in my opinion … he’s amazing,” Manteit said of Daniel.
He has fond memories of that unlikely 2018 flag.
“SJ empowered the leaders of the footy club to drive that. When it comes from within it adds a sense of empowerment and that you really want to own the success, we were learning along the way and made plenty of mistakes but winning that in the first year was remarkable,” former co-captain Manteit said.
“To win that and turn the football club to where it is now is really special.”
Manteit made an immediate impression on the Sharks, winning the club’s best and fairest and cracking the NEAFL team of the year in his first season, and he has since created some “unbelievable memories”.
Before he arrived at the Sharks via then-NEAFL club Sydney University, he was picked up by Collingwood in the 2014 rookie draft, but never played an AFL game. Not that the Canungra-raised Manteit harbours any regrets.
“It was a great experience, you do a lot of hard work to get there, I just spent the year there, they figured me out pretty quick that I was no good,” he laughed.
“It was a great experience to be involved in a professional program, I’m quite an optimist in a way that I’ve been able to have a 10-year state league career, I’ve made great relationships, I’ve got a university degree and started my own software company.”
While Manteit is hellbent on bringing another premiership to the Sharks, he’s also very focused on his off-field career, having left a stable job at a ASX top-100 company to start a new business called Tonic Technologies with himself and three of his mates.
“Certainly taken a leap of faith into a different path of life,” Manteit said.
“Ultimately it was about a change and a different opportunity and the flexibility to work with good people, I think that’s what I’ve really enjoyed.”
With four rounds to play Southport sits fifth on the VFL ladder ahead of its home game against Sydney on Saturday, which starts at 12.05pm at Fankhauser Reserve.
“We love the mentality of as many AFL-listed players as you can possibly get,” Manteit said.
“Lets knock them off, we’ve got that hungry dog-type mentality to try and beat anyone and we think we’ve got the cattle to do it.”
To add another Sharks premiership to his collection – alongside Steve Daniel again – would be the ultimate for Manteit.
“To win another one would be incredible,” he said.
“I think we have the players and the people and the coaches to do it.”
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