Lions In Focus – Nathan Mullenger-McHugh

By Nicholas Galea

Growing up, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh’s mother taught him that if he ever wanted anything that he’d have to work for it and that lesson has stuck with him throughout his life be it football, studies or his career.

Raised in a Collingwood family, Mullenger-McHugh started off playing Auskick at Ringwood before also participating in Milo Cricket at his primary school, Great Ryrie.

A talented athlete, Mullenger-McHugh played his junior football at the Heathmont Football Netball Club in 2007 where he won a premiership two seasons later but he also unfortunately tasted Grand Final defeat the following year. As well as his footy, Mullenger-McHugh too spent time rolling the arm over for the Heathmont Cricket Club. 

‘I started playing cricket in Under 10s and played all the way up until the Under 18s where we won a couple of flags which was good fun and then progressed into senior cricket at Heathmont where I played with my friends,’ he said.

‘The Heathmont Cricket Club was a great club to be a part of and likewise with the footy club.’

After completing his first year of senior football which saw him play 17 games at Heathmont in 2015, Mullenger-McHugh was invited to play at the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup as an overage development player.

The prospect of playing in an AFL Pathways System was a bit of a shock to Mullenger-McHugh as he had never previously made it into any rep squads throughout his junior football career.

‘When I first got asked to go down to Ranges I thought there was probably not much point and that I might as well keep playing with my friends because there’s no way I’m getting drafted,’ he said.

‘Len Villani who at the time that was working at the Eastern Ranges spoke to me and said “it’s a great opportunity to test myself and try something new”.’

‘He made the club really welcoming, so I thought I’d give it a go and enjoy the competitiveness of training and the competitiveness of the higher level.’ 

‘It was very different for me, obviously not being a part of the system before, to see the expectations and the way the boys went about their footy with the professionalism that comes with the higher levels, it was good fun.’   

Ultimately come seasons end, Mullenger-McHugh played 15 games in a Ranges jumper where an impressive season put him into the mix for the AFL Draft.

The AFL National Draft can be rather daunting and overwhelming experience as it is filled with a rollercoaster of emotions, even if you are expected to be drafted. Mullenger-McHugh, who didn’t expect to have his name called in the National Draft still had some hope of being picked up in the Rookie Draft with two AFL clubs showing interest in him.

‘Even though I played most games during the year and the finals, I still wasn’t expecting to get drafted,’ Mullenger-McHugh said.

In what was an eventful night, Mullenger-McHugh was ultimately drafted at pick 18 in the 2016 Rookie Draft to the Western Bulldogs, much to the delight of his mother, stepdad and the Heathmont Football Club.

‘Heathmont is a very tight knit community so heaps of people rocked up to my place after it happened,’ Mullenger-McHugh said.

Unfortunately, Mullenger-McHugh’s time in the AFL setup was short lived as he was delisted from the Bulldogs after two years at the club but come 2018’s end he was recruited to the Box Hill Hawks for the 2019 VFL season.

Throughout the year Mullenger-McHugh alternated his time with the Hawks and at Balwyn in the Premier Division in the Eastern Football Netball League before a change in mindset helped spark the consistency and form to play at his best for the team.

‘Once I started to really focus on simply enjoying my footy, that’s when there was a big shift in the second half of the season for Box Hill and I started playing every game coming into finals and the final series,’ he said.

‘Max Bailey at the time was really supportive of me. He helped me realise that sometimes obsessing too much on trying to get better and playing well doesn’t necessarily lead to a greater output. Everyone is different but for me I now know that if I simply relax and focus on enjoying my footy it leads to stronger results.’

Among many new recruits to the Coburg Football Club, Mullenger-McHugh he has continued to build that growth mindset, forming new relationships with the playing group and enjoying his training having described Coburg’s culture as comparable to that of his local football club in Heathmont.

‘It was clear from the start that Coburg pride themselves on being a ‘family’ and I felt that from the minute I walked into the club,’ he said.

‘It’s the passion around the people in the club, there’s obviously a lot of volunteers that put in a lot of their time and I found that relatable to where I’ve come from with Heathmont.’

‘I think that’s what really stood out compared to other clubs in the league.’

Quite the versatile footballer, Mullenger-McHugh has played in a number of positions across the years but it will be in the forward line alongside co-captain Peter McEvoy where he will be spending his time in season 2021.

‘In the past I’ve been thrown around. Forward, back and a little bit in the ruck but “Sturg” has said that I’ll be playing forward this year, which is good because gives me a chance to just really work on forward craft and know that’s the position I’ll be playing every week,’ he said. 

‘I can just focus on playing forward and building some continuity up there and work on building a connection with the other forwards, I’m looking forward to getting into it.’

Outside of football Mullenger-McHugh is balancing his time with his studies at RMIT in the city where he is undertaking Honours in a Bachelor of Applied Science (Project Management).   

‘It’s a four-year course which I’m still completing now… I started it the year before I got drafted (2016), I was also able to complete a couple of subjects part time while at the bulldogs’ he said.

‘After getting delisted I went straight back into full time and now I’m in my final year, which I’m looking forward to finishing off.’

As well as his studies, Mullenger-McHugh is also gaining experience at a construction company called Aspekt.

‘I’ve just started that this year in January… I work full time outside of my university semesters and then during semesters I will try work as many hours I can depending on what my timetable looks like,’ he said.

‘I’m in an undergraduate position and get moved around within the company to expose me to different positions, for me it’s a year of experience where I’m going to try to soak up as much as I can from the people within the company.’ 

‘Currently I’m working on one of the sites in Elwood, my role is to coordinate the trades to close out the defects and any unfinished works.’

‘They’re keeping me busy and I’m learning a lot so it’s exactly what I was after going into my final year of uni.’

With such a busy lifestyle, Mullenger-McHugh likes to take any chance to enjoy some free time and there is no better place in his mind then relaxing at the beach.

‘I like to get down to the beach as much as I can, my girlfriend Victoria has a place down at Phillip Island,’ he said.

‘I try to get out as much as I can… I’ve got a few friends that like to get out in the water for a surf or a bodyboard.’

An extremely humble man, Mullenger-McHugh is close with his family and their presence in his life is something he values immensely.

‘Something that is really big for me is my family… we are all very close’ he said.

‘I recently moved out last year with one of my friends and bought a place in Bayswater which is only 10 minutes down the road from home.’

‘Most of my family live In Heathmont which is great because it makes it easy to catch up with them, also my girlfriend’s family is just in Croydon similar so it’s the same story with them.

Mullenger-McHugh also credits the environment at the Heathmont Football Club for his development and many of its players and staff as people he looked up to.

‘In terms of the people I looked up to, it’s more the people that I got to see closely at the Heathmont Footy Club, the people on and off the field,’ he said.

‘Especially in my early days I think a lot of the senior footballers at Heathmont helped my development.’

‘It wasn’t just the players but the supporters as well at Heathmont who put in a lot of work to create an environment that felt like family.’

‘The supporters at Heathmont are the most selfless and caring people you will come across.’

Although Mullenger-McHugh describes himself simply as “lanky”, he is much more than that. He is a driven, professional, mature young man who understands the path that lays ahead of him, constantly reminding himself of the words his mother said to him as a child; “if you ever want anything, you’ll have to work for it”.