RUMOUR has it Moree Rugby League Club supremo Todd Mitchell was smiling at Boughton Oval last Saturday.
It’s been a tough, stressful year for the Boars club president, and smiles have been few and far between.
Mitchell bleeds blue and white, and when the full-time whistle was a few minutes away and a home-ground ticket to the big dance was cut-and-dried, he let out the grin he’d been holding back all year.
Making the grand-final means so much to Mitchell. Winning the damn thing means a hell of a lot more.
Mitchell has been club president on and off for a lot of years. He’s heading into the seventh season of his current stretch, but can’t quite recall the extent of past tenures.
“There were years where I can’t remember what I was – we all just put our hands up and did the jobs that needed to be done,” he grinned – for the second time in a week.
“This is my sixth straight year as president, and I think I was president between 2013 and 2016 as well.”
Mitchell is the humble bloke holding everything together. He much prefers the backseat, well away from the spotlight, and often flick-passes the credit elsewhere.
“The current committee is only small, but everyone works extremely hard to keep the club going. We’ve got a great team,” he said.
Moree Boars Rugby League Club president Todd Mitchell has led the club through some dry gullies in recent years. “I call them the dark old days . . . and there were plenty of them,” he said (Image Copyright).
Mitchell has been guided by some great men of local rugby league, and proudly continues the legacy.
“I have met so many great people over the years with the club, and there’s been none better than Alf Scott,” he said.
“Honestly, I’ve never met a man who loved a football club like this bloke loved Moree Boars.
“Alf was the Moree Boars walking encyclopaedia. He kept all the club records for more than 50 years. “When he passed five years ago, he was nudging 95 years of age, and it was only 18 months before that he was still time-keeping and keeping the scorebook – Alf was an incredible man.”
Scott’s legacy to rugby league in Moree and across the district is infinite. What the man didn’t know about the game on a local and regional level, wasn’t worth knowing.
For more than five decades, he kept meticulous records and statistics on his beloved Boars. Those records are now safely held in Moree and District Historical Society archives.
Scott saw the good years, the halcyon years and the lean years – and so has Mitchell during his time at the helm.
“There were some really tough years after the closure of the leagues club,” Mitchell said.
“But there have been plenty of people who put their hands up to lead the club out of that tough position. In particular, blokes like Dean Catterall, Gavin Hann, Paul Raveneau Senior, and Poey Raveneau and Grant Squires. There are a stack of others, who all helped in their own way.
“Most people have no idea what the club went through just to survive over the last 20-odd years.
“I call them the dark old days . . . and there were plenty of them,” Mitchell said.
Mick Watton (left) and Todd Mitchell with the Bernie Briggs Memorial Shield (Image Copyright).
Mick Watton has walked proudly – and doggedly – alongside Mitchell for five seasons, the past two as first-grade captain and co-coach with Alex Barker.
“Todd is the heart-beat of the Moree Boars,” Watton said.
“He’s one of the most understanding club presidents I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and a great family friend.”
Like Mitchell, Watton knows what it’s like to be disappointed.
The Boars went so close last year, and redemption beckons.
“It’s been an extremely satisfying year,” Watton said.
“When the first (training) session happened back in November (last year), I was plotting a plan as well as a team, and recruiting guys I knew had the same work ethic as some of the other lads we already had.
“It’s been great to see our team flourish and develop into a powerhouse.
“Moree deserves positivity, and to be able to bring this to the community gives me the greatest pleasure,” he said.
Words and Images: Bill Poulos
