Lions ball magnet Kitchin focused on Bulldogs challengeSaturday, September 16, 2017 - 4:32 PM - by Chris Pike

LEIGH Kitchin has been the standard bearer in Subiaco's midfield in his three seasons since arriving from Frankston in the VFL and the contested ball and clearance machine doesn’t want to find out what it's like playing in the WAFL and not at least reaching a Grand Final.

Kitchin arrived at Subiaco in 2015 stepping right into the midfield in a team that went on to win the premiership with him a key part of the line-up.

He backed that up with another outstanding 2016 season with Subiaco again making the Grand Final after being minor premiers but coming up short in the decider against Peel Thunder.

Now in 2017 with all his fellow midfielders like Kyal Horsley, Adam Cockie, Chris Phelan and Justin Joyce spending some time on the sidelines, it has been Kitchin as the constant force in the centre for the Lions averaging 24.5 disposals a game, dominant clearances and kicking 12 goals.

Already he has played in two WAFL Grand Finals and represented WA on three occasions in his time with Subiaco and there's every chance he could receive some extra individual accolades in 2017, but all he is worried about now is helping Subiaco into another premiership decider.

Subiaco dominated the WAFL season winning 19 straight games leading into last Sunday's second semi-final loss to Peel Thunder.

But now they have a second chance to win into the Grand Final up against South Fremantle on Sunday at Leederville Oval Kitchin can't wait to get back out there.

"I'm just excited about this week's game now. Last week is gone and there is nothing we can change about that but the season we played gave us two chances to get into the Grand Final and the way I see it is that we've got another chance now on Sunday and you can't ask for more than that," Kitchin said.

"All you want is to be able to walk away as premiers on that last day and to feel like you've been the best team of the year, and prove that on Grand Final day. If we can give ourselves a chance to try and do that by winning on Sunday then that will be great."

Despite finishing clear on top of the ladder last year and then beating South Fremantle in the second semi-final to book a spot straight in the Grand Final, the preparation wasn’t quite perfect for Subiaco with the double break before the finals leaving them a little short on match hardness.

Whether or not now having to win the preliminary final to advance to the Grand Final is a better preparation or not for Subiaco is something that only time will tell, but Kitchin is looking forward to the challenge of South Fremantle on Sunday.

"I guess time will tell but first off we have to win this game before we can even think about that. Last year we had the luxury of knowing we were in that second semi-final before having two weeks off so it was definitely a different preparation for a finals series, but this year has been very different," he said.

"Now we have no luxury of having another chance, it's like we are playing a sudden death Grand Final this week so we have to get through this and we can't look past this. There seriously is no tomorrow if we don't turn up and play well this weekend. It's a really big challenge but that's what you want to play against the best team in finals. I'm really looking forward to that."

While the strength of Peel's team with Fremantle-listed players has been much talked about, Kitchin just feels that Subiaco didn’t play anywhere near enough to their potential. 

That was a bigger factor in the result than anything related to AFL-listed players and now Kitchin isn’t shying away from the fact that South Fremantle is a significant challenge on Sunday so in no way is he looking past them before thinking about playing Peel again.

"We just felt like we didn’t bring the level of our game that we needed but now looking at this week, we know South Freo has a great midfield but we like to think we have a pretty strong midfield too so it should be a pretty good match up in there," Kitchin said.

"They are pretty talented and they have a pretty even spread with depth in their midfield and guys who can do all different things so we'll have to be on our game. We played them twice during the year and obviously we weren’t sure who we'd get during the finals series, but they are a great outfit so we expected it would be a big possibility we'd end up facing them. 

"They run pretty deep and they have good talent right across the field, they play for each other and they are a strong side. It will be a good game on Sunday but if we come with the right mindset that we might not have had last week then it should be a really good hit out."

Going back three years to when Kitchin decided to make the move from Melbourne to Perth, initially that was a work decision and he only thought about what to do with his football once he already decided to relocate.

Leaving Frankston was difficult but he couldn’t have asked for more than what he's found at Subiaco and in the WAFL the past three seasons.

"The move for me was based around wanting to be the best footballer I could be. I felt like the style of play in the WAFL would give me the chance to show some other sides of my game and not just being an inside player," he said.

"There was the possibility of me to come over here to show that I had other parts to my game and I wanted to improve myself at the same time. I loved playing footy at Frankston and it had nothing to do with not wanting to play for that footy club. 

"That was one of the toughest decisions I've had to make leaving Victoria and that footy club, but I also had a job opportunity over here. It all lined up over here where I had the chance to relocate with work and Subiaco contacted me as well and put the idea in my head of playing in the WAFL. 

"I can't say I regret the move at all in terms of coming over here to play for such a great footy club surrounded by so many great people. It's an enjoyable place to play footy but professional at the same time and demands high standards. There are no easy days or sessions at Subi, but that's how you get your best out of yourself."

Kitchin joined another former Frankston teammate Lachlan Delahunty at Subiaco with another ex-Dolphin Michael Lourey arriving at West Perth at the same time.

One more old Frankston teammate is Shane Hockey who Kitchin will lock horns with on Sunday in the preliminary final.

"We were good teammates back at Frankston and we are still good mates now. And I really like the way Shane plays and I have a great respect for the way he goes about his footy," he said.

"He was a great bloke to play with and you gain a lot of respect for someone when you play with them and you see the things they do on and off the field, and how they go about making their teammates better players. 

"I think he knows I have a lot of respect for him and I know our teammates know how much I respect him and their whole midfield. It's always a challenge playing against Shane and we don’t normally say too much to each other out on the ground or when we are about to play each other that's how competitive we are. 

"I guess for players like Shane it doesn’t matter who's around, he goes as hard as he can at the ball regardless and I'm sure he'll be doing that again. He loves playing well in big games so I'm sure he'll turn up again."

Kitchin had heard nothing but good things about Subiaco which is why he was more than happy to sign up ahead of the 2015 season. But initially the professional of everyone involved at the club and the expectations placed on everyone to give their all took some getting used to.

But now that he is settled in, he has no doubt that the demand for excellence that everyone at Subiaco has no matter if they are a player, support staff, office member, coaching staff or trainer is a big reason why the Lions are so successful on a consistent basis.

"In the early days I was definitely blown away by that part of the footy club and now you just come to expect it to be that professional, demanding and well-run. One of my best mates Lachlan Delahunty was already playing here before I came and he had obviously told me quite a bit about the club," Kitchin said.

"He had huge wraps on it and you could tell how invested he was in the footy club. But then once I made the move over here, you just find that everyone you meet at the club whatever position they are in they do their job really well. 

"That's from the CEO to the footy manager to the coach to the line coach to the strength and conditioning staff. Every person does their role to a tee and it even includes the property stewards. You just have a really great atmosphere to go and play footy and to be the best footy team that you can be. I think that's what the club does really well."