Premiership the focus for Prendergast Medallist

Mitch Bain is already a colts and reserves fairest and best winner at Swan Districts, is now the 2023 Prendergast Medallist and has sights on a career-best 2024 at league level, but before that a premiership next Sunday is his focus.

Monday was a night that Bain won't soon forget when he was presented with the Prendergast Medal after being voted the best player in the WAFL reserves competition for the 2023 season at the Sandover Medal.

It's a tremendous reward for what Bain was able to do in the midfield this season in his eight matches before he continued that into the finals including 28 possessions in the second semi-final victory against West Perth.

That saw Bain help Swan Districts book a place in the Grand Final of the reserves for 2023 to be held at Optus Stadium on Sunday September 24.

Excitement about being in a Grand Final

While Bain was proud to receive the Prendergast Medal in recognition of what he did in the reserves competition this season, it's a premiership medal that will mean even more to him.

Swans will play West Perth on Sunday's Grand Final at Optus Stadium, it's all about redemption for the 2018 colts decider.

Subiaco ended up beating Swan Districts that day also at Optus Stadium by two points and Bain has never forgotten, never got over it and now can't wait to earn some redemption on Sunday.

"It's very exciting. I haven’t been this excited in terms of a footy game for a while. Back in 2018 we went through this as well and made the Grand Final, but we lost it so I really want to win one this time and that's part of it as well," Bain said.

"I remember last time we played there we caught a bus in there and got to go in through the back gates with extra security and all that so it was real full on.

"But I remember going into the rooms and the changerooms are massive and even when we walked out onto the oval, the music was playing and I looked around and that's when I realised just how big the stadium was when I was standing in the middle looking around.

"The colts was playing in the second game too so people were coming in during our game and even by the time I did the coin toss, I looked around the stadium and that was already the biggest crowd that I'd played in front of.

"So it's pretty cool to play on there and even the actual ground itself is probably the best that we have in WA."

Looking back on 2018 Colts Grand Final

That narrow loss of the 2018 Grand Final has stuck with Bain ever since and the two-point margin has left him with quite the grudge against Subiaco in the years since.

That was a Swan Districts' colts team that included Seb Bright, Matthew Germs, Jarrod Cameron, Nathan Ireland and Denver Grainger-Barras while Subiaco consisted of Mitch Georgiades, Ben Golding, Nic Martin, Kyle Stainsby, Jack Mayo, Wil and Liam Hickmott, Taj Schofield and Tristan Hobley.

"It really sticks with you even now and I had playing against Subi every time now because of that game," he said.

"A lot of the boys that played in that game we see them again now every time we play Subi but now going into this game, because I lost that first one it makes me want to win this one even more.

"It did hurt for a long time losing that game and it still does now, but hopefully if we can win this one it makes up for it a little bit."

Feeling receiving the Prendergast Medal

Highlighting just how good Bain was in his reserves games this season in the midfield for Swan Districts, he won the Prendergast Medal having played just eight matches where he averaged 27 possessions a game.

To win the best player in the competition award having played less than half the games just shows how influential he was, and to get up on stage on Sandover Medal night to accept the medal is a moment Bain will never forget.

"It was pretty cool, I wasn’t really expecting it. Obviously I got told that I got invited the week before but the week before I wasn’t expecting it at all and wasn’t even going to be going to the night until then," Bain said.

"Smarty told me that I'd been invited on the Tuesday before so that's when I found out so it was a pretty cool feeling going up there. I felt very honoured to be up there.

"Just looking around the room and seeing everyone that was there because they'd won it before, or were in the Hall of Fame or the people who were getting inducted. It was definitely a pretty cool moment."

What winning the reserves medal does mean is that a player generally didn’t play as many league matches as they would have hoped in any given season, and it's no different with Bain.

After playing 16 of his 33 league matches in 2022, an interrupted pre-season put him on the back foot coming into 2023. He did only add eight more games to his tally, but to get a Prendergast Medal is a nice consolation prize.

"Coming into this year I missed most of the pre-season because I had a back injury so I was kind of on the back foot coming into this season," he said.

"But I would have liked to play a few more league games and maybe not win the medal. But there's always positives to something so I'm definitely proud that I was able to win it."

Being more at home at league level

Bain might have played fewer league games in 2023 than he did in 2022, but at the same time he feels like the more opportunities he gets at the top level, the more comfortable he feels that he can be a strong contributor.

He did have a best of 19 possessions in Round 5 this season against Peel Thunder and at 22 years of age he does feel ready and able to become a regular in the midfield for Swans at league level.

"I feel like every game I play I get more and more confident that I belong out there at league level," Bain said.

"Looking at our league team and I'm no longer one of the youngest guys anymore and then when I go back to reserves I'm like one of the oldest. So it's at that stage where I'm not one of the young guys anymore and that's helping to play a bit better and more consistently."

Importance of the pre-season for 2024

Looking ahead to 2024 and cementing that place in the midfield at league level, Bain knows a big pre-season is going to be crucial.

His back injury denied him the chance to hit the ground running as he would have hoped coming into 2023, so he's hoping for a full pre-season this time around and then that can set up the career of his life up to this point in 2024.

"Because I've always been a midfielder, when I first started in the seniors the people who were playing in the midfield were like Matt Riggio and Dave Ellard, and obviously I wasn’t going to play ahead of those," Bain said.

"Now we've got Clarkey and Sam Fisher, and had Frank Anderson so we've always had a strong midfield when I've been playing and it hasn’t been easy to get a spot in there.

"But I'm not one of the young guys coming through anymore so hopefully I can cement my spot in there next year and that will start with the off-season and pre-season.

"Hopefully my back is all good this year and I will be able to get a proper one in. Then that will boost my confidence going into next year."