Tarneit can take pride in the strides it has made as a football club over the past three seasons.
The Titans reached the finals for the first time in the reserves last season and have gone one better this campaign with the seniors gearing up for the finals’ assault for the first time ever.
“For our senior group, it’s a great achievement, but there’s still a hell of a lot of work to do,” Titans’ assistant coach Adam Taylor told Star Weekly.
Tarneit is not content to just make up the numbers in the WRFL division 3 finals. The early front-runner ceded ground to ladder-leader Newport Power and flag favourite Parkside in the second half of the year, and has settled into third place of late.
Despite the slide, the Titans have no plans to be discounted as premiership contenders, though some might be writing them off after Saturday’s 80-point hammering from Parkside at Henry Turner Reserve.
Tarneit showed their best was good enough in the first part of the season, but they also concede earlier good form means little now.
“Sides are now putting more of an effort into planning for Tarneit, rather than just thinking it’s the Tarneit of old,” Taylor said.
“They have a better understanding of how we can play now.”
Tarneit’s success has been built on a strong defence. The Titans are ranked second in points conceded.
Kicking a winning score in the blockbuster matches is still a work in progress.
“On the against side of the points, we’re holding our own,” Taylor said. “We’ve identified that we need to be a bit more attacking, or to find a bit more firepower.
“It’s okay to stop some goals, but the scoreboard says you’ve got to kick them.”
Tarneit has used 42 players this season and finding the right mix has been the toughest part for first-year senior coach Mark Elso.
The Titans will get closer to the side they will use in the finals when they host Braybrook in the last home-and-away game on Saturday.
It is an important pre-finals workout for the Titans, who have been up and down in form like a yoyo over the past six weeks.
“We really need to attack this game with a finals’ attitude,” Taylor said. “This week wasn’t a reflection of what level we believe we can play.
“We’ve got an opportunity this week to get back on track and head into the finals with confidence.”
Elsewhere in division 3, Wyndham Suns’ late finals bid is likely to fall short after a shock 48-point loss to Braybrook.
Sanctuary Lakes has just about done enough to hold on to fourth after its 75-point smashing of North Sunshine.
In division 2, the bad Glen Orden showed up in a 121-point loss to Caroline Springs.
The Hawks have been a Jekyll and Hyde proposition in recent times, with their best able to match it with any team in the competition and their worst comparable to a bottom four side.
Manor Lakes went down to Yarraville-Seddon by 86 points.
