By Alex Suchocki
Western Magpies hard-running wingman, Mitch Stallard has earned himself the round 17 Rising Star nomination after a stand-out effort against Labrador on the weekend.
It was a rough day at the office for the Western Magpies, going down by 75 points in a dominant display by the visitors.
A shining light came in the form of Stallard who was undoubtedly best on ground, cementing himself on the game from siren to siren.
He made his intentions known early exemplified by Stallard’s running prowess, second efforts and competitiveness at the contests, which were second to none.
“I played up and down the wing on the weekend.”
“My role within the team was to keep running and link up with my team mates and keep us in the play,” Stallard said.
After starting his junior footy career at Jindalee, then moving to Kenmore to play seniors and now starring in his debut season at the Western Magpies, he is stringing together some decent footy after an interrupted start.
Having put on a rejuvenating display in his last six games, finishing amongst the clubs best in each, Stallard’s second half of the year has been nothing short of impressive.
“I was bit quiet to start with but as the season went on I’ve improved a fair bit, but there are still plenty of areas to improve on,” Stallard said.
Stallard has enjoyed the luxury of roaming up and down the wing, taunting the opposition with three goals in his last two.
This is another element Stallard strives to add to his game, capping off the 2014 season.
Western Magpies will be looking forward to the final round of the home and away season, hosting title heavy weights Morningside at home.
“With Morningside resting players going into finals, we aim to make it competitive as possible,” Stallard said.
