The soaring Saint from the land of the rising sun

By Greg Baum

Young Saints star Mitchito Owens.Credit: Eddie Jim

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Mitchito Owens says the first word he spoke was “do itashimashite”. In Japanese, it means “you’re welcome”.

Owens and his older brothers Kai and Tomo are the sons of an Australian father, Cameron, and a Japanese mother, Maki, who met when he was teaching her English at school in Tokyo. His Christian name is an Anglicised version of Michito, a common Japanese name; the added T neatly shortens to Mitch here.

Mitchito Owens between two Lions.Credit: Getty Images

Owens says his family regularly spoke Japanese at home when he was young, he went to Japanese school for a while and his mother still talks to him in her native tongue from time to time.

His facility with the language dulled when COVID interrupted what previously had been annual return trips to Japan with the family, but he was pleasantly surprised to find how quickly the words came back last off-season when he went back on a trip sponsored by AFL Japan. He says he has always understood Japanese better than he has spoken it. Kids generally do!

Owens grew up and still lives 10 minutes down the road from St Kilda’s Moorabbin base and had a classic southern suburbs footy and school upbringing, but he came to the club via its next generation academy, established by the AFL at each club to further Indigenous and multicultural representation. So it was that the Saints were able to match a bid from Sydney to secure him at 33 in the 2021 draft.

It’s fair to say that Owens’ progress this year has been as surprising – even to him – as his provenance is exotic. Last year, he played seven games. This year, he has played all but one – which he missed because of concussion protocols – and thrilled fans with his brave marks, long goals and general footy smarts. He finished third in the Rising Star award.

For reference, the two players who shaded him, North Melbourne’s Harry Sheezel and the Brisbane Lions’ Will Ashcroft, were Nos.3 and two respectively in last year’s draft.

“I’ve definitely been surprised,” he said. “At the start of the year, I was pretty much focused just on playing round one and working from there. So I’m surprised by the way I’ve gone so far. I’m pretty happy.”

Owens attributes his emergence to a heavy-duty pre-season shared with the Saints’ tight cohort of younger players, notably fellow academy graduate Marcus Windhager. “Especially Marcus. He’s very fit,” he said. “I was just trying to chase him all the time. Even in the gym. We’re both very competitive, so that helps.”

A spate of early season injuries opened up a spot on the forward line in round one and he has not let it go. He says he has revelled in playing under Ross Lyon’s stewardship. “He has such high standards. And I love how smart and tactical he is as well,” he said. “He sees small things so well.”

Every now and then, there is a bit of Lyon-speak to interpret, harder even than Japanese. “Sometimes he has you thinking, what the hell does that mean?” Owens said. “But the more time I spend with him, the more I understand his riddles.”

Owens is not yet 20 and not every element of AFL footy has come as easily to him as he sometimes makes it look. “The mental side of it has been pretty hard,” he said. “It’s hard to play consistent footy, as everyone would know. It can get to you a bit mentally. If you have one or two bad games, you’re like: what am I doing different? What’s wrong? I struggled with that a bit.”

The extra attention that comes with greater prominence also has challenged him. “People hyping me up; I hate seeing myself in that sort of stuff,” he said. “I felt it put a bit more pressure on me.”

Assistant coach and dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey had an answer. “He pretty much put me in the middle and drew a circle around me and said, all that matters is the four walls of this club,” Owens said. “All you can control is your own actions, and that’s all that matters.”

Owens finished third in this year’s Rising Star award.Credit: Eddie Jim

He says he tries to avoid publicity, only for his mother to alert him to each new appreciative story or post. That is a mother’s prerogative.

Defying science, sporting talent manifests where and as it will. Owens says his father was a handy local footballer for bayside clubs, but who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t taken up a job in Japan?

There, he played for the Samurais in a rudimentary AFL league in Tokyo and met Maki and so it began. Now Kai is playing for Frankston and excited some interest in last year’s mid-season draft, Tomo is playing footy seriously for the first time after a stint playing basketball in Japan, and Mitch is the new darling of Saints’ fans. “We’re a very competitive household,” Owens said.

Other legacies of the Owens’ Japanese background were more predictable. He is acutely conscious that half of his teammates are from interstate while he could walk home, always to good cooking. “We encourage those boys to come over. It’s the least we can do,” he said.

Owens’ favourite dish is katsu curry. “She made that for the boys one night and they loved it as well,” he said.

By favourite, he means to eat rather than cook. Unlike his footy, his cooking is on a low flame. “Mum’s trying to teach me,” he said. “She’s pretty impatient with me because I’m really slow.”

St Kilda’s Mitch Owens kicks a goal against Gold Coast.Credit: Fox Footy

Owens grew up as a North Melbourne supporter and thrilled in his schooldays to watch them play finals under Brad Scott. He went to finals last year because he loves watching footy anyway. But he has only ever played two games on the MCG. His third will be a final, and he can hardly wait.

Away from footy, Owens said he was learning carpentry one day a week and tried sometimes to play golf with embarrassing outcomes. Otherwise, his hands are full with his golden retriever puppy. “I’ve got to walk her most mornings and afternoons,” he said. “Mum helps.” Don’t they always?

So life’s rhythms develop, with footy always at its heart. Owens said he was beginning to feel at home in the game now. “There’s nothing smooth about AFL footy. It’s full of ups and downs,” he said. “But one thing that’s probably increased from last year is that I’ve got a lot more confidence in myself.”

Dynamic forward suits – for now. “I’m more than happy with wherever the coach wants me,” he said. “But ideally when I get a bit older, maybe a Dusty [Martin], [Jordan] De Goey mid-forward role would be pretty nice.”

Meantime, switched-on Saints fans might think back on this season and Owens’ blooming and say to him: “Arigato.” And he, well-bred as he is, will reply: “Do itashimashite.”

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