David Mirra was appointed captain of Box Hill Hawks for season 2014, but in essence he captained the club in its premiership triumph last year.
Mirra found himself elevated to acting captain last year when club captain Daniel Pratt injured himself in late July. Try as hard as he did, Pratt was unable to get back into the team.
He admitted there was an element of a “heavy heart” attached to his wonderful moment as the VFL Hawks upset the heavily favoured Geelong.
“Obviously, ‘Pratty’ had been our skipper for the past two years, but he succumbed to injury and couldn’t get back into the side,” Mirra said.
“You feel bad because your captain is not playing, but at the same time to be acting captain and be fortunate enough to win the premiership was a huge thrill.”
When Pratt decided to retire from playing VFL, it paved the way for Mirra to be officially appointed club captain.
“It is my fifth year at the club, it is a massive honour and a huge thrill to be captaining the club,” Mirra said.
“When ‘Pratty’ was injured last year it gave me an opportunity to step up and it gave me some good experience.
“And, when ‘Pratty’ left the club at the end of last year, the club and the boys voted on the position and I was able to get the nod.”
Mirra captains a club that has what most belief is the best alignment in the VFL with Hawthorn. He notes the synergy is readily evident.
He said everyone on the Box Hill Hawks and Hawthorn lists “buys in” to what the alignment is trying to achieve.
“When everyone does that, we are going to have some good results,” Mirra said.
“It is a partnership that works well and it has been really good to see some of the Hawthorn listed players - Mitch Hallahan, Will Langford, Angus Litherland, Derick Wanganeen - who played in the Box Hill premiership get their opportunity in the AFL this season.”
Along with the responsibility of being captain and a VFL Multicultural Ambassador in 2014, for the second successive year, Mirra was named in the VFL State squad which again highlights his good form this season.
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CLICK HERE to listen to Mirra talk about the Hawks' win over Footscray last week, and his role as a VFL Multicultural Ambassador.
Last Modified on 16/07/2014 23:19