Former Portarlington player Matthew Cimino informed Robinvale Euston FC that Baxter Mensch was the man they needed

The senior coach of the regional Victorian footy club which poached a BFNL star has revealed how a Geelong talent spotter got the ball rolling for one of the league’s biggest coups.

Baxter Mensch playing for the Darwin Buffaloes against the Tiwi Bombers in the NTFL. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

He’s the former Portarlington player and Bellarine footy observer who played a key role in helping lure a premiership Tiger away from McCartney Oval as they get set to embark on a quest for a historic threepeat.

The BFNL community was left stunned after Robinvale Euston in the Sunraysia league in the state’s north announced on social media on Sunday they had poached Baxter Mensch away from Torquay after successive premierships.

It all reportedly started with a message from Robinvale Euston senior coach and SFNL legend Don Falvo to former Eagle and BFNL Demon and GDFL Lions, Matthew Cimino.

In that Sunday post, the club referred to Cimino as its “unofficial recruiting officer” in the region.

Baxter Mensch has signed with Robinvale Euston. Picture: Robinvale Euston FC.

Born and bred in Robinvale, Falvo said Cimino moved to the Geelong area more than a decade ago but kept in touch with the four-time McLeod medallist who played 437 senior games for the Eagles in a glittering career.

“You’re got to have contacts far and wide these days, I sent him a message a few weeks ago if he had any talented midfielders in the Geelong area,” Falvo said.

“So he started putting the feelers out there and he came back to me with one name and that was Baxter’s.

“So we did some research on Baxter and saw he was one of the star players up there, and also dominating in Darwin.

Robinvale Euston coach Don Falvo (left) was delighted to win the signature of Torquay premiership player, Baxter Mensch. Picture: Robinvale Euston FC.

“We thought he travels to Darwin (to play NTFL) so it won’t bother him to jump on a plane for an hour to Mildura.”

However, Mensch will join the Eagles following a tumultuous season, finishing fifth after the club was fined $15,000 for a salary cap breach in 2023, docked of 12 premiership point and left with just 31 player points to deal with next year.

Falvo said the plan was to play 19 locals and three top end recruits: Mensch, former Waratah forward Jayden Magro and Warriors teammate, Marcus Wattie — both played in the 2022-23 NTFL premiership.

He hopes the arrival of Mensch, Wattie and Magro, one of the more popular players in the NTFL during his tenure, will usher in a fresh new chapter for the club.

Robinvale legend Don Falvo hung up the boots with the Eagles in 2015. Picture: Colleen Petch.

“We were super stoked to have Baxter on board, from all reports he’s obviously a great player,” Falvo said, who met with the new recruit on Sunday, calling him a “natural leader”.

“I think he’ll fit in with what we’re trying to do.

“We’ve got a pretty young side, a lot of talent around that 18 to 25-year-old (mark), so I think he’ll fit in.

“He’s played a lot of high end footy ... a lot of young blokes will feed off him naturally.

“I’m pretty stoked to be honest.”

Originally published as Former Portarlington player Matthew Cimino informed Robinvale Euston FC that Baxter Mensch was the man they needed