For years, Mitch and Henry Hore spent countless afternoons battling each other in the backyard growing up on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Until just a few weeks ago, they were even sharing a house in Brisbane.
On Tuesday night, however, the brothers will swap sibling rivalry for knockout football when they line up on opposite sides in the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32, with Mitch aiming to help NPL Queensland side Lions FC pull off an upset against Henry’s new club, Perth Glory.
Football was rarely far away during the Hore brothers’ childhood. Although the three-and-a-half-year age gap meant they seldom played in the same junior teams, both remember spending countless afternoons kicking a ball around in the backyard.
“Every afternoon we were kicking the ball together,” Mitch recalled.
Henry laughed as he remembered the fiercely competitive contests between the pair.
“We had some good battles there. We were both really competitive,” he said. “Being the younger brother I used to get bullied a little bit, sometimes going crying to Mum and Dad. I think it just toughened me up and made me a better player.”
When the draw paired Lions with Perth Glory, both admit they immediately recognised the occasion. Mitch described the prospect of facing his younger brother as “a bit exciting”, while Henry said it was “pretty cool” and “pretty special to play against my brother, but also against my old club as well.”
There has already been a little good-natured banter between the pair since the draw, but both expect that to dry up as kick-off approaches.
“Theres been a phone call or two, but as we get closer to the day, it’ll probably go a bit quiet,” Mitch states.
Henry echoed those sentiments.
“Yeah, there’s been a few messages here and there,” he said. “As the game gets closer, we’ll probably leave it until after the final whistle.”
The pair were teammates for two seasons at Lions FC but have only met once competitively, with Mitch’s Bentleigh Greens drawing 1-1 against Henry’s South Melbourne in the NPL Victoria. Another reunion appeared on the cards in the 2023 Australia Cup semi-finals, only for Henry to miss Brisbane Roar’s clash with Melbourne Knights through suspension. This Tuesday though, they’ll finally get the chance to renew their rivalry.
The timing of the reunion is particularly striking given Henry only joined Perth Glory a matter of weeks ago, ending a five-year chapter with Brisbane Roar, where the attacking midfielder made more than 100 appearances.
The 26-year-old had been living with Mitch in Brisbane before heading west, but the transition has been eased by a previous spell at the club as a teenager.
“I’ve settled in really well,” Henry said. “I’ve been here before, so I know a few mates and I know the area.”
Henry first moved to Perth back in 2017, joining Glory’s youth set-up as he pursued his ambition of becoming a professional footballer.
“They showed some interest and I wanted to go professional,” he explained. “I thought I’d take the gamble.”
Now back in Perth and preparing for his first competitive appearance since returning, Henry will make a swift trip back to the Sunshine State to face the club where he once played alongside his brother.
Whilst Henry prepares for his first competitive appearance in Perth colours, Lions enter the tie in the midst of an NPL Queensland title race, where at the time of writing they sit just one point behind leaders Peninsula Power. Mitch believes that could hand the hosts a slight edge, with the visitors still in the early stages of pre-season.
Lions have enjoyed an outstanding campaign so far under Head Coach Dan Barber and remain firmly in the hunt for the NPL Queensland Premiership, with Mitch insisting that has been the club’s primary focus from the outset.
“Winning the NPL Premiership has always been the objective at the start of the year,” he said.
“Whilst we’re taking the Australia Cup seriously, this game is a bit of a free hit. There have been upsets before.”
“Glory being early in their pre-season might help us a little bit, fitness-wise.”
Henry is under no illusions about the challenge awaiting Glory against a Lions side approaching the decisive stage of its domestic campaign.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” he said. “They’re probably at their peak at the moment.”
“We’re at the start of our preparation, so we’re still getting better, still improving and building every day. It’ll be a good contest.”
It won’t be the first time Lions and Perth Glory have crossed paths in the Australia Cup, either.
When the sides met in the Round of 16 in 2015, Lions held their A-League opponents scoreless until the 116th minute of extra time, when Chris Harold finally broke the deadlock to send Glory through with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
While both brothers will be desperate to come out on top, the divided loyalties in the Hore household mean it will be a memorable occasion for the family too.
Henry joked his parents might be “leaning a bit towards Lions” after supporting the club for so many years, although he admitted they’ll ultimately be happy whichever brother ends up on the winning side.
Mitch, meanwhile, confessed he hasn’t even asked where his parents’ loyalties lie.
“Seeing as we’re NPL and they’re A-League, hopefully us!”
Once the whistle blows there will be little room for brotherly affection.
Both Mitch and Henry admitted there would be no holding back if they came together in a 50-50 challenge, with each determined to get the better of the other before the inevitable bragging rights are settled after the final whistle.
“It won’t really matter,” Henry said. “But if it is Mitch, it’ll be very good to win it and give him a bit of stick after the game.”
Despite preparing to line up on opposite sides, Henry remains full of admiration for his older brother.
“He can run all day,” he said. “That’s one of his biggest traits, but he’s technically very good as well.”
Off the pitch, however, he couldn’t resist one final dig.
“He can be a bit messy around the house!”
From childhood kickabouts in the backyard, to sharing a dressing room at Lions FC and, until recently, a home in Brisbane, football has shaped the Hore brothers’ relationship for years. On Tuesday night, they’ll spend 90 plus minutes trying to outdo one another. Once the final whistle sounds, however, that rivalry will be put on hold, and they’ll simply be brothers again.
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