By Mikayla van Loon
A former Essendon footballer has joined the lineup of players at the Mooroolbark Mustangs for the upcoming division one season.
Heath Hocking has returned to his former juniors club after being asked by president Scott Dimitriou if he’d be interested in taking the leap out of retirement.
“I reached out and at the first stage he actually said ‘no look, I’m pretty comfortable in retirement and just happy to be in family life,” Mr Dimitriou said.
“And then called me back two days later and said, ‘mate, I’ve had a really good think about it. I’ve had a chat with my wife and I’m really keen to come home and start playing at Mooroolbark where it all started for me.”
Mr Dimitriou said it’s fantastic to get local families coming back to the club with their own children and wanting to give back to local footy.
Heading into the season having finished third last year, Mr Dimitriou is confident the addition and experience of Hocking will elevate the club in many ways.
“It’s huge for the footy club on the field and off the field. Having played I think 150 games at Essendon and being in the AFL system, the experience he brings to our young kids and develops them for future years and teaches them is just, you can’t buy that kind of experience.”
An AFL player for 10 years before moving into the VFL and then the James Herd Academy, Mr Dimitriou said Hocking has quite a resume not only as a player but in a coaching role.
Within the first few moments of his first session with the club on Monday 21 February, Mr Dimitriou said the experience was already felt by all.
“We were talking about our structures and our setups with all the young kids and straightaway he goes, ‘oh, why don’t you do this? And I think you could do that better.
“The first session he was there, he was having an impact and helping our coaches and helping our players. I can’t wait to see him have a full season to be honest.”
Hocking will join another former AFL player in the midfield, with Aaron Mullet also playing for the Mustangs in 2022.
Going into a new season, the addition of two AFL players will help with the loss of some senior players who have moved to different clubs and some who have taken a break after Covid-19.
“So the numbers are a little short but leading into practice matches that will really pick up a bit and we should be okay for two sides,” Mr Dimitriou said.
“I’m confident that we can make the top four and we get an uninterrupted season with Covid and local footy’s back bigger than ever.
“From there if we make the top four anything can happen on the day and hopefully we can play some finals.”
With Mooroolbark, Lilydale, Montrose, East Ringwood, Bayswater and Croydon all in division one this year, Mr Dimitriou said there could be some friendly local rivalry but more so, some big crowds.
“Hopefully we’re on the back end of [Covid] now and we can get some consistency and really build some momentum. It’s going to be a huge division one season.
“Fans just want to come and see really good local footy and this year, there’s going to be a lot of that in division one.”
