Defender chasing one more big goal
HE HAS been to the top of the mountain for Queensland footballers, but there is one more goal MA Olympic defender Mitch Maher wants to tick off his bucket list: bringing home the Crad Evans Shield.
The right back played off for the shield in the junior ranks but, after taking up an opportunity with nowdefunct National Premier League outfit Northern Fury, missed MA Olympic’s triumph in 2016.
Maher returned to the local league this season and has had an immediate impact on the Mundingburra club, proving crucial in their dominant premiership win.
The experienced defender is a brick wall at the back for the side, but it is his ability to turn the ball around and put the side on the attack which is critical to the club’s success.
He has struck up a bond with right wing Jake Siandri that has become a lethal weapon for the North Queensland Football heavyweights, according to captain Scott Dymock.
“Mitch is a very good defender, and it is his work at the back that frees Jake up a lot down the sideline,” Dymock said.
“But he also knows when to make his own run into attack. They work really well together.”
Maher said the pair’s bond on the field was just an extension of their friendship off it, which was the same for the rest of the Olympic squad.
“A group of us young boys are all around the same age, and we just get along really well off the field,” Maher said. “We are like a big group of brothers. When it is on the field it is the same relationship.”
Maher said he had enjoyed the release of pressure after stepping back to the North Queensland Football Premier League ranks after a tough season for NQ United last year.
But it has not stopped him from