There are few more celebrated at Heights Reserve than favourite son, Scott Dimitriou.
The Mooroolbark stalwart has ridden the highs and lows at the Mustangs – from junior glory, grand final heartbreak, premiership jubilation to life membership, Dimitriou adds the 250-game milestone to a stellar football CV when he runs out this weekend.
Landing at the Mustangs around the turn of the century proved to be the beginning of one of the club’s most decorated careers after a stint with East Ringwood.
Three flags in succession would follow in the junior ranks before embarking on a footy journey which continues at 32 years of age.
“I left in ‘99 because East Ringwood didn’t have any juniors unfortunately,” Dimitriou said.
“I went to school at Mooroolbark so I played with all the boys there and played in three flags.
“I formed a bond with all the guys coming through – playing in three flags is pretty special when you’re 14, 15, 16.
“You kind of think that they’ll come every year (and) since then I’ve only played in two grand finals.”
The 250-gamer’s indoctrination into senior footy is one he has never forgotten, taking the field against grown men as a teenager against Doncaster East at Heights Reserve on debut.
The 32-year-old remembers the occasion, kicking three goals on the wing as Doncaster East went on to win by under a kick.
“The first year out of juniors, I played Round 1 as a 16-year-old in the seniors – from then on, I formed a bond with the club and loved it ever since,” Dimitriou said.
“It was a huge crowd, and early on I was pretty nervous.
“My first coach was Steve Noonan who was probably my age (at the time) and playing against men when you’re 16 – they were pretty big boys back then, you’re thrown off the deep end but you get out there and you do it – there was no under-17s then.
“It was pretty common back then if you were good enough.”
A young debut along with a hunger of success set the tone for Dimitriou, whose desire to experience the ultimate glory would seem lightyears away in 2007 with the club struggling on-field, battling relegation in Division 3 alongside Templestowe and Warrandyte.
But the tide would soon turn for the Mustangs, playing off in a grand final in 2008 which saw the club fall agonisingly short by two points to the Waverley Blues.
“In 2007, I actually played in a relegation game and the loser of that would’ve got relegated to Division 4,” Dimitriou said.
“We lost our first two in 2008 and I thought, ‘here we go again’ (and) we went on to win 15-straight and won the second semi, straight through to the grand final and lost to Waverley with the last kick of the day.”
Dimitriou remembers the loss burning deep among the group during the off-season and into 2009, where the club would return to the big dance 12 months later.
As co-captain of the side, Dimitriou led the Mustangs to the Division 3 premiership in a year which saw the club drop just one game all season, before barnstorming its way through the finals with a 55-point shellacking of Upper Ferntree Gully in the grand final.
“Everyone says you’ve got to lose one to win one, and that’s exactly what we did,” Dimitriou said.
“They (premierships) are as rare as hens’ teeth – you probably work an extra little bit harder, really dig deep and salvage the moment.
“We stuck together (and) in the 2009 flag I think there were about eight guys who’d played in the 14s, 15s, 16s junior flags.
“No-one was really going to beat us that year after we went through the pain of losing one.
“We’ve got the 10-year reunion in two years and it’ll be good to catch up.
“I think there’s only myself and Kire Talevski that are still there from the flag but we’ll all catch up for the next 10 years and the 20 years and so on – it was just a great time for the footy club.
“There’s a lot that had been starved of success at Mooroolbark and to come back to the clubrooms and have some of the life members crying on your shoulder about what it means to them was something I’ll never forget.”
The bonds formed from the juniors to the seniors through premiership glory saw a plethora of decorated careers forged alongside Dimitriou, including two he reveres as the best he’s played with.
“One of my best mates in Matt Polkinghorne – he played as a 16-year-old late in 2004 I think – Andy Goodwin was the coach and he threw (Matt) into the deep end and Matt was the one that could handle it a bit more than others being a massive boy,” Dimitriou said.
“Being a superstar footy player for Mooroolbark and a superstar of the EFL, he’d be the one that stands out – unfortunately we lost him to Wandin (but) hopefully he comes back because he’s played 194 games – six more for life membership.
“Big Kire (Talevski) would have to be another one as well – winning a flag with him was a bloody special moment and this year he’s come back – he loves the club more than anyone there.”
A short stint with East Ringwood in 2013 alongside the likes of Bernie Dinneen and Marcus Buzaglo saw Dimitriou play 18 of his 250 games at the ‘Roos, where he’d always had a vested interest watching his uncle play over 200 games for the club growing up.
But the Mustangs and ‘Dimma’ would be reunited again in 2014 on his way to the 250-game milestone, where he coached the reserves to a preliminary final the same year – a passion he looks to continue in the coming years.
“I’ve always had a burning passion for coaching,” he said.
“That goes back to me being a captain – I love the game of footy, I live and breathe it.
“My goal down the track is to coach the footy club to a flag – whether that’s in 12 months, two years, five years, 10 years, I’m not sure – I definitely see myself coaching for a long period of time.
“The future of the Mooroolbark footy club is in good hands – the kids coming through are just unbelievable.”
Above the camaraderie of team-mates has come a football-mad family supporting the journey of 250 games – with both parents and uncle heavily involved at the club and in footy, playing alongside brother Daniel including the ’09 flag, and respected Herald Sun AFL journalist and partner Lauren Wood all a significant part of the milestone.
Dimitriou couldn’t be more grateful for the support of loved ones in a career which also seen a Mooroolbark Football Club life membership, which ‘Dimma’ holds dear when reflecting on the 250-game achievement.
“It’s a massive honour – to be a life member of the place that I hold dearly, there’s only 20-odd that have ever achieved it.”
