Traralgon lads, Matt Northe, Tim Membrey and Nick Graham were too young to remember the first time that they met, but what they do remember is always being a part of each other’s lives. Best of mates that have been linked through family and football, typical teenagers they are not, rather they are talented and driven young men chasing an AFL dream.
The Northe, Membrey and Graham families have been linked through football for years and the family friendships only grew stronger when the kids started to arrive on the scene. Matt, Tim and Nick’s fathers were all talented and well known footballers in the Gippsland region. As a result the boys grew up immersed in football, constantly around football clubs and constantly with a football in their hands. Since those very early days, playing football at the highest level possible has always been the goal for Matt, Tim and Nick, that hunger sparked after seeing their father’s success.
As six year olds all three boys started playing football together for Tedas Football Club in the Traralgon district junior league, fast forward 11 years and all three are still playing together, but now it’s for Gippsland Power in the elite under 18 competition, the TAC Cup. The Power has had a flying start to the 2012 season, with Matt, Tim and Nick playing a pivotal part in this success.
When asked to recall their earliest football memories, the boys talk about always being together on the field in the middle, but as Nick Graham explained it wasn’t all fun to start off with, “I remember Matt used to hate footy, he never used to want to play, he always wanted to play soccer.” It didn’t take Matt long to become just as hooked on footy as his mates. Soccer’s loss was certainly football’s gain with Matt Northe developing into a tough ball magnet that can go forward with a devastating effect.
Tim Membrey laughed as he reminisced “I remember whenever we were playing tedas under 10’s it would just be us three in the middle and we would crack it if we didn’t get the ball. If one of us kicked it to someone else we’d crack it because we would just try to keep it between the three of us.” That want for the ball and ability to find each other on the field is still there, but thankfully for their current team mates the boys are now very much team players. Tim has developed into a strong leader and ultimate team man, holding the coverted position of Captain at Gippsland Power in 2012. A member of the AIS AFL Academy Tim toured Europe with the AIS squad earlier in the year, this experience further enhancing his leadership skills and fuelling his desire to make it to the AFL ranks.
Nick expanded further about playing as youngsters in the middle, “when we were really young we would be getting the ball and we would be clean as so we would get in the middle and rub mud all over us so we would look like we had been in it.” From those early days playing in the mud Nick has grown to be an elite midfielder that’s certainly not afraid to get in, get dirty and do the hard work.
For their entire football career there has only been one season the boys didn’t all play together, when Tim played up an age group for the Traralgon fourths. This intricate knowledge of each other’s game has helped the boys step up to the elite level and perform for Gippsland Power. When asked how does having your best mates around you on the field help Matt explained “Its good because they know how you play, they know you inside and out, they know all your strengths and weaknesses.” Tim continued on “you just know where to look for each other on the ground, not in a selfish way, you just know. I know if Nick’s got the ball on the wing I know where to lead and I know nine times out of ten he will hit me right on the chest. I know when Matty is around the ball he is going to get in and get it out to someone and make a good play out of it.” Nick chimed in “It’s good with Tim coming out of the square you know where he likes to lead and likes to position himself. It’s just the little things like that.”
All three boys agree that their current coach at Power, former Carlton and Port Adelaide player Nick Stevens has had a huge influence on their game and that his AFL experience has been invaluable not just for them, but the whole club. Just as Matt Northe began to talk about just how that experience has helped, Coach Stevens walked past the boys with a big cheeky grin and stirred them up. It’s clear that the boys have formed a strong relationship with their coach and enjoy the banter. Tim went on to explain “having Nick has helped even off the field, you know you can come and relax and have a joke, but when it’s time to play footy or train you know it’s got to be serious and switched on”. That healthy balance of fun and footy is working, with Power having a dominant season so far.
The boys have a huge amount of respect for their coach and his approachable nature, Tim going on to say that “if you’re unsure, he pretty much has an answer for everything”. That respect is mutual, Coach Stevens glowing in his praise for the three lads he calls the wolf pack. “They are all a bit unique in the way that they play, but they are all great players”.
Stevens then appraised each of his chargers individually. “I am a little bit in awe of the way Matty Northe goes at the footy for a guy his size, the way he runs back with the flight of the ball, his consistent pressure around the footy and this second and third efforts. I reckon he is nearly the most improved player at our club this year from what I have seen from pre season through to now.”
“Tim Membrey, I haven’t seen a kid that’s better one on one in the contest, I mean his ability to mark one on one and when it hits ground level to lose his opponent I think is first class for that age. His second and third efforts impress me the most; I know he is a great mark and a great kick for goal but his second and third efforts are what he has really worked on and that’s where I think his game has improved the most.”
“Nick Graham has also worked extremely hard on his game, he’s a very well balanced player that always keeps his feet in the contest, his skills are exceptional and his ability to work through traffic is really good.”
With both Tim and Nick making the Victorian Country under 18 squad for this year’s National Championships, and many in the know saying that Matt was very stiff to just miss selection for the final squad, being drafted by an AFL club is a realistic prospect for all three boys to face. The maturity and approach to this that they show is well beyond their years. Tim summed it up when he said “you just can’t get to ahead of yourself and expect that you are going to go on to an AFL career, you never know what’s going to happen.” All of the boys indicating they are just taking it week by week and focusing on playing good footy.
Their focus and discipline was highlighted further when talking about their commitment to football while trying to fit in everything else in life. Nick explained “you know you have to make sacrifices while all your mates might be going out and partying back home. You can still be yourself through the week and catch up with mates and have a laugh and stuff, but you just don’t have to go out on the weekend.” Tim added “you come away playing footy with your good mates, you never feel like you’re wasting your time when your other mates are partying and stuff because you know they are not as serious as you want to be.” The cheekiness shone through as Tim said “none of the stuff changes at home though, we are all trying to chase around women.”
They may have already won six premierships together, but as the TAC Cup season rolls on and finals loom, the thought of winning a flag for Power is in the back of the boys mind. Talking about that with them you get a feel for just what that flag would mean to them when Matt said “I couldn’t really put it into words to be honest”. Tim explained “at this level, the best under 18 competition in Australia, to win a flag with two of your best mates, that’s just awesome.” Nick added “and this is our last year that we would possibly ever play together, we might not ever play together again. We are all going to go off and do our own thing, whether it be at AFL or club level. We have been together for over 10 years, to top it off with a flag you won’t get much better than that.”
All three boys understand that after they finish playing for Gippsland Power their footy journeys will no longer be shared and agreed that it will be a weird feeling. They laughed as they pictured coming together as old timers to chat about the footy glory days over a few beers. Nick summed it up “no matter how far away we are, we will still always have that connection.” The bond they have developed is so strong that they will be mates long after they stop playing footy.
The Gippsland Power program aims to develop the boys that enter their program not just into quality footballers, but also into quality young men off the field. Spending time with the “wolf pack” you get the sense that this has been achieved and whatever feats these three youngsters achieve on the footy field will be matched off the field. Their story of footy and mateship will start a new chapter at the end of the season; don’t be surprised if there is a fairytale ending to chapter one.
Last Modified on 12/11/2012 09:31