Mernda aiming to break seven-year finals drought in NFNL Division 3

After seven seasons without finals, Mernda hopes it has a better mix of youth and experience to break into the NFNL Division 3 finals battle.

Nathan Baccega in action for Mernda. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Mernda hopes a better blend of youth and experience will put it back in NFNL Division 3 finals contention.

The Demons have missed finals for the past seven season and not made the Division 3 top-four since being relegated back in 2015.

The club finished sixth last season, beating finalist Kilmore and Heidelberg West, finishing 16 points behind the Blues in fourth.

Billy Morrison is a two-time EDFL premiership player with Jacana and Craigieburn, winning the grand final medal on both occasions.

Shannon Bennett also won flags with Jacana and Craigieburn and arrives from Tullamarine, while tough midfielder Michael Evans returns from a season off.

Rob Fletcher speaks to his Mernda players.

The trio will be joined by Neeson Cook from Broadford, a RDFNL Under-19.5 league best-and-fairest winner, who will further bolster the midfield.

Mernda coach Rob Fletcher hoped a better mix of maturity would ensure his team was competitive for longer.

“We’ve added a lot of experience to the footy club, I think that one thing we lacked last year – we had a lot of kids playing,” Fletcher said.

“We were in a lot of games until three-quarter-time and then we’d fall away a little bit, we just needed some leadership out on the ground.

“If you look at a lot of games – bar the first three when we had our pants pulled down – we were in a lot of them at three-quarter-time.

“We just couldn’t get over the line, we were up against Heidelberg West by 20 something points and I don’t think we scored in the last quarter.

“We think a couple of these older blokes will help us keep our structure.”

The added experience will help protect the club’s strong youth development pathway.

Kye Turner in action for Mernda. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Despite losing the likes of Josh Mazzarella and Anthony Bradford to Thomastown, Mernda still plenty of young talent.

Fletcher said the likes of Joel Harris, Jayden Bell, Dane Kellett, Riley Edwards and Will Crouch would be consistent senior footballers this season.

The Demons also boast the Division 3 Under-19 league best-and-fairest Matthew Bawden, who will look to build on his four senior games last season.

“Matthew hasn’t had big pre-seasons over the last couple of years because he’s played basketball,” Fletcher said.

“His dad, Stephen, is an absolutely great of the Northern footy league.

“Matthew has missed only one night of pre-season this year and done the camp and everything as well and played every (practice) game and looked impressive.”

Mernda has warmed up for Round 1 with practice matches against EDFL outfits Northern Saints and Oak Park.

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Fletcher was particularly impressed with his side’s showing against Oak Park, coming away with a win on Saturday, and will now turn its attention to a final hit out against Epping for the Patrick Chow Cup.

Patrick Chow, who owns Chow Gardens Restaurant, has been a supporter of both clubs for more than 30 years.

The clubs have also struck a Terry Bracher Medal for the player adjudged best-on-ground, in honour of Mernda premiership player and life member Terry who passed away last year.

Mernda kicks off the season with a difficult trip to Old Eltham Collegians before it’s home opener at Waterview Reserve against Laurimar in Round 2.