Riordan and Hipwell re-sign for Zebras in 2022

24/11/2021

The Sandringham Football Club have confirmed the re-signings of Mitch Riordan and Darby Hipwell ahead of the 2022 VFL season.

Mitch Riordan celebrating with team mates, Goy Lok (left) and Jack Bytel (right)

Both Riordan and Hipwell featured in the Zebras’ best 22 during our brief 2021 season.

Riordan played 5 games for the Zebras in 2021 after returning from a knee injury he sustained the previous year.  

Upon his return, he was an integral part of the Zebras’ midfield, playing in all 4 wins from the final 6 matches of the season.

The former Gold Coast Sun will be keen to attack a full pre-season with an eye to 2022.

Additionally, we are excited to announce the signing of Darby Hipwell. 

Hipwell had been on the Sandringham Dragons’ list, but played the majority of last season with the Zebras. 

He primarily played in the forward line, but also proved to be a useful midfielder.  

Hipwell seemed to continually become more comfortable playing at VFL level as the season progressed, displaying a high level of maturity for his age. 

He kicked multiple goals for the Zebras in his last 2 matches, and we look forward to seeing more from him in 2022.

Football & Recruitment Manager, Josh Vella, was glad to announce the signings:

“We are stoked to be able to retain Mitch as he will no doubt be a huge component of any success we have in 2022. Mitch is a dynamic midfielder and has great footy IQ. I think we looked much stronger as soon as Mitch returned from injury in 2021 which I believe pointed to his importance in our team.”

"Darby seemed to fit right in at the level seemingly from day 1. Obviously being a young player coming through from the Dragons, the sky is the limit for his development. He works hard and plays his role for the team and we couldn't really have asked more from Darby in his first handful of games with us."

"Both these boys were real priorities for us heading into 2022. We believe both Mitch and Darby are young players with big futures and we are very happy to keep them with us at Sandy," he said.
 

Written by Jye Pierce - Sandringham Football Club Media