– SEE: Picture gallery of the Tigers’ practice match against Williamstown.
– SEE: Settled Tigers ready to impress
EXPERIENCE counts, if the Werribee Tigers recruiting spree is any guide.
The Tigers have brought in leaders with high football IQ in the off-season complement a strong list that made it to a Victorian Football League preliminary final last season.
Senior coach Scott West’s main priority was to find a replacement for key defender Kyle Hartigan, rookie listed by the Adelaide Crows, and filled the void with highly-rated former Collingwood VFL key position player Kris Pendlebury.
Former AFL players Addam Maric, Brett Meredith, Robbie Hicks, Michael Ross, Jared Moore and lately Scott Clouston signed on, as was last year’s Western Jets captain and local product Ashlin Brown.
The Tigers have taken on a project in ruckman Ben Brown, who tore the Tasmanian league to shreds last season.
The athletic big has been training the house down this pre-season with a view of challenging for a senior berth.
Delisted North Melbourne players, Ben Warren and Ben McKinley, will be full-time Tigers.
After coming within touching distance of a grand final berth last year, these new additions could see the Tigers go one step further. Here the four new recruits to watch, with comments from West.
Kris Pendlebury (key defender)
“We heard a bit of a whisper that he might want to move on from Collingwood. He was waiting for the rookie draft and once the rookie draft came and went, I don’t know if he was disappointed that he didn’t go, but Collingwood took another mature-aged defender and at that stage he may have thought that was the right time to make the move. We acted pretty quick once Kyle Hartigan got rookied [by Adelaide] because it left a bit of a hole in our defensive end with him playing the key role.”
Addam Maric (small forward)
“I’ve seen Addam’s story from back when he was in years 11 and 12 at Essendon Grammar, the same school that I went to. I worked with him at Melbourne for a year before he went to Richmond and having a little bit of a connection, you follow him. They were going to rookie him and the cards didn’t fall his way. During that period was work as hard as he’s ever worked, but unfortunately he didn’t get the opportunity. He came to us as fit as he’s ever been, so we’ve been able to get our hands on a very fit, experienced AFL player, who’s got a lot of pace, agility, with extra work rate endurance and an elite kick.”
Brett Meredith (midfield)
“He comes highly recommended. He had a bit of bad luck with injury in Sydney. They weren’t soft tissue, they were shoulders, ankles and things that you can’t help. He’s come from Sydney, so what he can bring to the table for us, in regards to the way they went about it, arguably the best cultured club and team in the competition, will be invaluable. He’s got real good speed and endurance and is a really good kick. With another solid year of VFL footy, I’d b hoping he’d be looking at taking the step up to the next level.”
Ben Brown (ruckman)
“If you saw him train, you’d think this kid is going to be something. There’s a few things he need to work on, but the biggest challenge for him is just stepping up to the next level. The Tassie league is not as strong as the VFL, so the next challenge for him is to dominate VFL footy. Some of the things he’s been doing at training has not only impressed me, but he’s impressed the players. He took a mark the other night at training, one clunk, went back and kicked a goal.”
