By Jonty Ralphsmith
Beaconsfield winger Josh Mounter made his VFL debut on Sunday in Frankston’s 13.16 94 to 11.9 75 victory over Collingwood at Kinetic Stadium.
Mounter finished with 11 disposals, with his callup a product of hard work in several different state league squads.
The Beaconsfield junior has been around several state league squads prior to 2024 without cracking through.
The former Dandenong Stingray has done a preseason at Box Hill, spent time at SANFL side Sturt in 2022 and last year was part of Frankston’s Academy.
“It’s a good reward given he didn’t make our VFL list (last year), trained with the Academy, got invited for a preseason with absolutely no guarantee and didn’t get a contract until late February,” Frankston coach Jackson Kornberg said.
“He’s an elite runner – he won our two kilometre time trial pretty comprehensively and he’s had a great year at Beacy.
“He held his own and played his role on the wing.
“With the wing, you look for someone who knows the role and is disciplined with his patterns and he is.
“His running capacity was strong and we needed someone we could trust out there so that’s why we landed on him.”
The 22-year-old has been a key piece for Beaconsfield in the Eastern Football Netball League, starting the season on the wing before moving into the midfield in recent weeks.
“He’s a player who has really earned his selection – he’s toiled away and worked hard on his game,” Beaconsfield coach Mick Fogarty said.
“His GPS numbers are outstanding – his ability to run all day; I’ve never seen anything like it.
“He really deserves his opportunity.
“He averages around 25 possessions, his balance inside and outside is really good and he’s a penetrating kick.”
Mounter was one of four Beaconsfield locals in action on the day, with trusty goal kicker Matt Johnson and tall Harrison Coe playing alongside him for the Dolphins, and forward Hayden Brown playing for Collingwood.
Johnson currently sits equal fourth in the league goal kicking with 25 goals, 11 behind competition leader Billy Gowers.
“He’s got a pretty good tank and he’s the quickest bloke in the squad so his ability to get back (towards goal) is how he gets a lot of his goals,” Kornberg said.
Coe is establishing himself in the Dolphins’ lineup, playing his third consecutive game for the Dolphins after struggling for continuity early in 2024.
“He’s improving every week, hit the scoreboard on the weekend, took a couple of really good marks and gave himself some really good opportunities. He’s good in that second ruck spot as well,” the coach highlighted.
Elsewhere, Narre’s Jack Toner played his first game for 29 days, missing four weeks after suffering a nasty concussion against Southport in round 11.
He was a key contributor in Williamstown’s 27-point loss to a strong Gold Coast side, accumulating 21 disposals, seven tackles and four clearances.
Officer’s Cal Porter, meanwhile, was one of Box Hill’s best, racking up 25 disposals in a one-point victory over Geelong.
