2023 GNFL season: Fitness is the key for Mullewa this preseason as Mick Wall says it has held the team back

Going from zero wins in three years to three wins in one year is a major improvement for a team that had walked away with the wooden spoon every year since 2017. Coming off a sixth-place finish on the ladder last year, the team was not looking to go backwards and were coming into the season with a clear number one coach, Mullewa president Mick Wall said. “Patty Walsh is our A-grade coach. . . We had dual coaches last year and he is on his own this year, he will bring something different to the club, he is good with the juniors, he knows what he is doing,” he said. Last year was a big turnaround for the club, and this year they will only look better with the team getting match fit for round one. “We’re going to have a scratch match against three springs before the season starts,” Wall said. “Last year we could not get a scratch match, we asked probably about 14 clubs and couldn’t get one, so this year is way better in that, we are going to have a fair bit of match practice before the season starts. “That probably held us back a bit last year and this year I think will be much better for that.” Although they racked up wins against Northampton, Towns and the premiership Rovers, Mullewa is making sure to hit the ground running with all the preseason work they are putting in. “We took a team to Carnarvon for a carnival, we probably had half an A grade side. . . we got to the grand final,” Wall said. “We’ve got a few players that are going to play in that Great Northern all-stars” With the team starting to take shape before round one, Wall said that a tall would bring it all together. “We’re just going to get better and better, we lack a bit of height, if we could snare a ruck or a centre-half forward, we would be a lot better” he said. Things are looking up for the squad and Wall said it was the young talent to watch out for. “Greg Galby has shot up, he’s grown probably six-seven inches from last season, training the house down, he’s going to be a really good A-grade player” he said. “We’ve got Jerome Little still coming up from Perth, he is just going to get better and better. “Our colts are good, a lot of them are training so they are pretty fit, they’re going to be fun to watch.” Mullewa’s 2023 campaign kicks off at Towns on April 29.