By Tyler Lewis
PULL QUOTE: “It’s a family club, hopefully one day my kids are running around playing footy or netball here.” Narre Warren premiership player Kurt Mutimer.
Narre Warren brothers Dylan and Kurt Mutimer have achieved something only few can ever dream of.
The pair can hold a premiership cup aloft now, and tell the story forever, as Sunday 18 September 2022 will mark the day Dylan and Kurt became Narre Warren premiership players together.
After a stint with the West Coast Eagles, Kurt returned to Narre Warren in pursuit of time with his brothers.
“Yeah it means everything, coming back to Narre all I wanted to do was enjoy my footy and play with my brothers,” Kurt said post game.
“To be able to finish the year off with a flag, it’s everything I ever wanted.
“Not many people get to win flags with family members and I managed to do that with my brother, it’s a bit of a dream come true.”
Dylan, meanwhile, has played just five senior games and when he heard of Kurt’s return, he made it his sole focus to crack into the side on the cusp of greatness alongside his older brother.
“I’ve been through the reserves the whole year, so this is just my fifth game,” Dylan explained.
“I tried my hardest to scrape in and play finals with my brother, I managed to play in a granny with him… all of that was enough, but to win a granny with my brother is sensational.
“I couldn’t picture this any other way, when I knew he was coming back to Narre, I made it my main drive to get in the senior side and debut with my brother.
“I wanted to stay in the side for finals and managed to do that and then win a granny, I can’t believe it.”
The boys had to wait for the moment however, as lightning protocols sent them back into the change rooms.
“Yeah… it was a dampener,” Kurt said.
“When we were back in change rooms it was just about trying to keep the boys focused on the task and stay motivated.
“We managed to do that, we knew we had to stay in the rooms for 45 minutes to an hour, we didn’t really expect it all, but we tried to keep each other on task.
“We started a bit slow, whether that was the reason I don’t know, but to our credit we were able to grind it out and come away with the win.”
While Kurt was undisturbed by the delay, Dylan – understandably – was far more eager to get out there, feeling as though the more thinking he begun to do, the more nervous he became.
“I was in there sitting for about 30 minutes just thinking,” Dylan said.
“I was getting really nervous, I have only played four games and never won one (a premiership), I was trying to get outside.
“It was just delaying me and I hated it.”
The characteristically fast-paced and switch-friendly brand of footy in which Narre Warren typically play suits the perpetually moving Kurt, but Sunday’s conditions made that style difficult.
In order to win, he put the team first.
“It was a slog after that downpour we had when we were in the rooms,” Kurt said.
“I just had to put my own game at the back of my mind and keep it predictable for everyone else on the ground.
“I knew it was going to be a slog, I just took it quarter by quarter and get the ball forward to give the forwards the best opportunity to kick goals.”
Playing behind the footy, Dylan was under the pump in the first half, but he and his mates knew they were home when the momentum shifted and the coach delivered an inspirational speech at the final change.
“The boys fought hard, we were down and late in the third we were down by 20 points, but coming into that last Grubbo (Shane Dwyer) gave us a good rev up,” Dylan said.
“I knew we were going to come out firing and we did… the result showed on the scoreboard.”
As for why the Magpies as a collective are so successful, Kurt puts it down to culture.
“It’s the love and care everybody at the club shows for each other,” Kurt said.
“There’s a lot of families that have been around the club for a long time and that’s half the reason I came back to Narre two years ago.
“It’s a family club, hopefully one day my kids are running around playing footy or netball here.”
Dylan doesn’t disagree with his older brother.
“I have been playing here for three or four years now, since I was (aged) 16 and the culture is amazing,” Dylan said.
“Everyone is mates with everyone, it’s bloody unreal, you go into the function rooms and everyone is chatting to everyone.
“Tuesday and Thursday training is like a big family, everyone is just back together.”
Kurt and Dylan will be hopeful that 2023 is the season they can add another Mutimer to the premiership-player club, with youngest sibling Jacob currently in the under-19’s.
