MPFNL: Mt Eliza sets itself for a big 2023 in Division 1

It’s been a pre-season of highs and lows for Mt Eliza, with a former AFL captain committing, but a key player rupturing his ACL at training. Here’s the latest.

Mt Eliza coach Steve Brattle. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Mt Eliza experienced the highs and lows of football all in the space of a week in February.

The Redlegs were bubbling with excitement when their ex-junior and Melbourne skipper Nathan Jones signed with the club.

A week later, their hearts sank when key player Will Antonie hurt his knee at training.

Antonie’s worst fears were confirmed when scans revealed he’d torn his anterior cruciate ligament.

“He just landed on it at training,” Mt Eliza coach Steve Brattle said.

“It was innocuous, there’s not much for it to become a major injury.”

Antonie, who had been doing pre-season training at Frankston VFL, was a driving force behind Mt Eliza’s journey to the MPNFL Division 1 finals last season.

But his 2023 season is over before it started; he underwent a knee reconstruction last week.

Happier times: Will Antonie will miss the 2023 season. Picture: Facebook

Brattle admitted Antonie’s absence was a blow to the Redlegs.

“It would be nice to have him there,” Brattle said.

“We’ve got plenty of depth, we don’t want to keep testing it though, we’d rather be nurturing it than testing it.

“He’s a big guy and he’s mobile and he’s vocal. All those things. He’s done a good job when we’ve given him some big tasks.

“We’ve got a few more guys who do the same thing.”

Antonie was the second Mt Eliza player to rupture his ACL in the past six months after Jeremy Burton did his knee in the final round of last season.

Brattle said Burton was progressing well and a chance to play late in the season.

“He’s fit and going well. He might play,” he said.

It’s understood Jones will play a handful of home games for Mt Eliza — the club he started with as a seven-year-old — in between his media commitments.

His first game will be against Sorrento in Round 7, at Madsen Reserve.

“It should be huge, it’s a great story,” Brattle said.

Brattle said his message to Jones would be straight forward: “just have a bit of fun, mate”.

“You’re not going to teach him anything,” he said.

“The idea would be, ‘what can he do to have an impact’, rather than him having to do all the work.”

Mt Eliza will have several players on VFL lists this season, including Tommy Freeman at Casey, and Will Lambert at Port Melbourne.

Lambert is a grandson of Mt Eliza club legend Greg Lambert.

Former Carlton listed Fraser Phillips is full-time with Mt Eliza this season.

As far as departures go, Mt Eliza has lost the Rouse twins, Jordan and Zach, to Kangaroo Flat in the Bendigo league, and Bayleigh Welsh to Frankston Bombers. Last season’s captain Shane Tennant is travelling around Australia with his family.

Asked how Mt Eliza would go in 2023, Brattle said: “We’ll let the experts do their normal stuff and see if we can’t surprise a few again. The 19s won the grand final, the twos finished third…I think we’ve worked out how to keep the group together so we’ll see how we go.’’