Sam Mitrovski, better known by ‘Moppa’ or ‘Pieps’ sidekick’ around the club, is a great example of home-grown talent and an outstanding clubman!
Sam joined St Mary’s Junior Football Club as a tacker in 1998 and played in over 150 games including 3 Grand Finals with 2 Premiership wins, and of course won a number of coaches awards which led to his mates referring to him as the ‘coach’s pet’.
Unfortunately the Colts team lost the Grand Final in his final Colts year, but he was determined to see more St Mary’s victories, so became part of the inaugural U19s St Mary’s Senior Club team in 2009!
His senior career kicked off with a stellar first season which saw him place second in our club B&F! Sam didn’t stop there, and followed this up with his first B&F win 2 years later in 2011!
Over the years, Sam has continued to see success with the club. He was an exceptional contributor to the Reserves team that won three back-to-back grand finals in 2016, 2017 and 2018, taking out the B&F in 2016 and taking on the role of Captain in 2017, leading the team to another two victories. This year he made an impressive return to the ones, only to be struck down with a serious should injury.
His contribution to the club was recognised in 2019 when he was placed in St Mary’s ‘Team of the Decade’ as part of our 10-year anniversary celebrations.
Despite all of the above, most would agree that his most significant achievement of all is winning the highly coveted “Mr St Mary’s” at the annual Ladies Night 3 times – surely a club record!
After 12 years, Sam has now played the most games out of every player at our Senior Club, which is an incredible achievement!
Senior Assistant Coach Ben Joyce who has played with and coached Sam across their 20-year friendship, shared how valuable Sam has been to St Mary’s over the years.
“What more can you say about the man? Sammy has been vitally important to building the Senior Club into the strong position we are in today.”
“Whilst his on field achievements have been significant, for me the impact he has had in creating and developing the culture of the Club stands out above all else.”
“He is a true leader in every sense of the word and has an unmatched level of respect from the playing group for all that he has contributed and continued to contribute to the Club.”
“Few people have such a longstanding impact and legacy like Mop has at St Mary’s. I’ve been lucky enough to share the journey with him, firstly on the field together and more recently as a coach, and it has been a privilege to see him achieve the success he deserves.”
“The man has it all, by day he is a quality rebounding back flanker, and by night he is always the life of the party, double parked with a couple and Cruisers ready to cut up the dance floor.”
“As a coach, to have such great people in Moppa, and of course his best mate Pieps, as leaders makes your job so much easier, and their partnership has been a key element of the sustained success of the Reserve in recent years.”
SMFNC 