EFNL 2025: South Croydon edges winless Mitcham for first victory of Premier Division season
Led by a band of its ever-reliable stars, South Croydon has broken through for its first victory of the season – while continuing Mitcham’s winless Premier Division start.
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South Croydon coach Brendan Allen described the post-game feeling as one of “relief” as the Bulldogs broke though.
Etching their first win of the season after a 0-5 start, South’s 9.12 (66) to 8.10 (58) victory over Mitcham at a windy Walker Park on Saturday was spearheaded by the club’s tried and trusted elder statesmen.
With both clubs desperately hunting their first points of the campaign, little separated the pair at the breaks – with just a goal splitting the teams at three-quarter time.
“You always think you want to kick with the breeze in the last, but you’re running out of petrol tickets at that stage – it was just a will and a want, especially from a few of our senior boys,” Allen said of the victory.
“Dano King, Jayden Cass and Jim Wilsen, they just willed themselves over the line.”
Wilsen, usually a key post in attack, produced a standout performance stepping into the ruck role while also snagging two majors.
In fact: “I think it was actually the best game I’ve seen Jim Wilsen play”, Allen declared.
“He didn’t kick 10 goals, but he was in the ruck all day.
“He was enormous … his effort to follow up and gain clearances was outstanding.”
Falling to reigning premier Balwyn by 15 points the previous weekend, losses began to mount after East Ringwood (103 points), Blackburn (18), Doncaster East (26) and Rowville (41) all had the Bulldogs’ measure.
But the 0-5 start, Allen believes, didn’t read nearly as badly by the numbers.
“If you look at our stats, we’re in the top four or even top three for most (categories) in the comp, and if you look at the quarter-by-quarter ladder, we’d be right up there,” Allen said.
“We hadn’t taken our opportunities, and the reality was we were 0-5, but if you look at it glass half-full, we could be 4-2 now, but we’re not.
“We’ve just got to get going now, it was a bit of a relief to be able to sing the song after the game and enjoy it with the supporters.”
James Fasan, Baylin Spencer and Matthew Aldous featured among the Bulldogs’ best, while Chris Jones – usually the club’s unshakeable centre half-back – swung forward and booted two crucial goals.
Mitcham ruckman Tom Lovell earned his keep against the hulking Wilsen to finish as the hosts’ best, while Riley Nicholas, Lachlan Curtis, Jack Baldwin, Alex Barton-Smith and Lucas Marro (three goals) were also prominent.
But the result consigns the Tigers to a 0-6 record at the foot of the table after promotion to the league’s top division.
Allen said the Bulldogs could expect to regain a host of key names in the coming weeks.
Ex-AFL star Liam Shiels headlines the list, while VFL Hawk Jett Latchford, young gun Oscar Van Dam and utility Ayden Kennedy are also in the frame.
“Personnel has been a bit thin, we’ve been whacked a little bit by injury, but that’s no excuse … we’ve been in most games, just haven’t been able to get it done,” Allen said.
“We’ll start to see a few of those guys come back in the next two or three weeks – if we can start to get a few of our top end players back and gain momentum, who knows what can happen.”
South Croydon hosts Berwick in Round 7.
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