Having achieved almost everything he could in the VFL, two years ago David Mirra took a step back from footy and considered what to do with his career.
It was the end of the season and a number of his teammates from Box Hill had returned to local footy and Mirra was thinking about joining them.
That was until Hawthorn list manager Graham Wright gave the mature-aged defender a call offering him a place on Hawthorn’s AFL list.
“By the end of 2017 I’d accomplished a fair bit and thought about potentially going back and playing local footy,” said Mirra on SEN’s VFL Show last week.
“It was at that point in time at the end of that season that Graham Wright from Hawthorn gave me and that sort of changed everything.”
Over the past two seasons Mirra has spent his weekends playing in the brown and gold for either Box Hill or Hawthorn. He made his AFL debut in Round 4 2018 against Melbourne a 27-year-old.
“I debuted at the age of 27.
“Whilst I was frustrated not being drafted out of the TAC Cup system, I look back on it and actually think it was probably the best thing for me to be drafted late.
“I’ve been able to experience a fair bit off the field as well and set myself up away from footy too.”
Last weekend the now 28-year-old achieved another milestone at the club he calls ‘home’ playing his 150th game for Box Hill.
“It was a special day. One I’ll remember for a long time despite the result.
“It’s a footy club that I feel at home and which I love. It was quite nice to hear people talk about you in that manner and to see the impact that I’ve been able to have on the club over the past 19 seasons.”
Across his career Mirra won two VFL premierships, a best and fairest, was named best on ground in the VFL grand final and selected in the VFL team of the year on four occasions.
Despite his contract currently finishing at the end of this season, Mirra hopes to play on next year.
“I definitely want to push for AFL selection particularly for the back half of this year.
“I’m still aiming to get back into the side and you know play some more AFL footy. As I said I’m not contracted for next year so I’ve just got to continue playing the best footy I possibly can and just see what happens.”
