Local footy: Ex-AFL player Aaron Mullett leaves Mooroolbark, joins Wandin
Ex-AFL player Aaron Mullett’s surprise move from Mooroolbark to a rival league has dealt the club a major setback less than eight weeks out from Round 1. Both coaches weigh in.
Eastern
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MOOROOLBARK has suffered a major blow less than eight weeks out from the start of the season, with arguably its best player exiting the club.
Former AFL Kangaroo and Blue Aaron Mullett has left the Eastern league Division 1 outfit, linking with Outer East top-flight club Wandin.
Mullett, who played 98 AFL games across North Melbourne and Carlton from 2011-2018, signed at Mooroolbark following his AFL career, helping it to a grand final last year.
The midfielder/forward played 46 senior matches for the Mustangs, kicking 134 goals – including 58 in 2022.
He won three consecutive Team of the Year selections during his time at Heights Reserve.
While Mooroolbark senior coach Bret Lavars said Mullett would be tough to replace, his loss could create opportunities for the club’s new recruits and emerging talent.
“It’s exceptionally disappointing from my point of view and the club’s point of view to lose such a quality person and player at this late stage,” Lavars told Leader on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s hard to replace Aaron anyway, but hard to replace someone at this time.
“He’s made a decision that he feels is best for him and his family, and I respect that and I wished him all the best when we spoke.”
Wandin coach Nick Adam was chuffed to bring Mullett in, revealing the damaging mid-forward was looking for further balance in his life.
“He’s obviously an experienced footballer that has played at the highest level and then had a good clip at EFNL footy, playing in a grand final last year at Mooroolbark,” Adam said following a club announcement on Wednesday morning.
“He’s at a point in his career where he’s really focusing on getting the balance between family, work and footy right and that’s a big part of what we try to promote at our club.
“He’s going to add real experience on field to a young and emerging core, which we’re really excited about building around.
“He’s obviously going to take a really good defender every time he is inside 50, so it’s a challenge for opposition coaches to have to deal with.”
The Bulldogs – who missed out on a place in the 2022 Outer East grand final by just seven points – are ambitious of contending on this season’s final afternoon and feel the addition of Mullett certainly goes a long way towards that goal.
“We have really high expectations at the football club of where we want to get to this year,” Adam said.
“He’s been great from the moment he has walked in, but you recruit players like that to be great at the business time of the year.
“We’re really confident that we’re going to put ourselves in a position to contend this year and he’s going to strengthen us up when we get to that point.”
Mooroolbark suffered an 83-point drubbing at the hands of East Ringwood in the Division 1 decider in 2022 and have since lost a host of names.
Young guns Jayden Weichard (Kilsyth) and Bailey D’Monte (Croydon) are among the departures, while defender Dermot Reynolds (Croydon) has also moved on.
Ex-Essendon midfielder Heath Hocking has retired alongside Sean and James McManus, while leading goal-kicker Jai Jordan’s playing future is undecided.
“We’ve been on this journey together building something really special and to come up short in an albeit disappointing performance, I’ve probably lost, from that grand final side, minimum seven (players),” Lavars said.
“It’s a worrying thing when people leave your club, you self-evaluate as to why.
“We don’t think we’ve done a lot wrong as a club, it’s just the perfect storm, so to speak, with people moving on.”
The Mustangs recruited experienced defender Michael Thompson (The Basin) and ex-VFL name Jesse Boyd (Pascoe Vale) this off-season, and have also welcomed back versatile tall Paul Thatcher.
The club will also look to its emerging talents this season, with Lavars highlighting Eastern Ranges-listed names Jye Peacock, Jett Hartman and Liam George as players to watch.
“The growth is going to come from within the group as well,” he said.
“We feel like we’ve still got some really good players … we think the future’s bright but we’re going to be a bit younger and inexperienced, but with that comes excitement.”
Lavars said the expectations hadn’t shifted despite the loss of key names.
“Our goal is still to win enough games to play finals, and then from there it’s a new game as we learnt last year – the challenge is to get back there now,” he said.
Mooroolbark opens its season at home to Wantirna South on April 1.
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