Star Weekly’s Lance Jenkinson had a rare all-access pass to the Werribee Tigers inner-sanctum for Friday’s exhibition clash with the stars of the future …
The Werribee Tigers’ players, coaches and support staff are preparing for battle on the big stage at the MCG.
Playing the curtain-raiser to the AFL blockbuster between Collingwood and Richmond is a rare luxury for state league players.
The awkward 4.35pm start time on a Friday means the semi-professional footballers will be hurt in the hip pocket but there is no way they will let a day’s work get in the way of this chance to play at the home of football.
Tigers chief executive officer Mark Penaluna assembles the club’s connections outside the ground at 2.30pm.
It will be a long day – and an exciting one.
It strikes me how well organised the Werribee rooms are in the hours leading up to the first bounce.
Everyone is in the zone, worrying about what they need to do as individuals to prepare for the big match.
Coach John Lamont commands respect as the man at the top but this is far from a one-man show.
The line coaches quietly reinforce team values and talk tactics, sometimes in small groups, other times with individual players.
There is alone time for the players to have their own pre-game rituals.
They take turns to go into the medical room, probably the busiest thoroughfare in the building, where they get strapping to alleviate the pain from old wounds and to prevent new problems bobbing up.
Led out by Scott Sherlock, the Tigers enter the arena for their pre-game warm-up about 20 minutes before the game.
One by one, the players gaze up to the enormous grandstands that surround the playing arena.
They stay composed with their game faces on but inside they are surely jumping for joy at the chance of playing on the hallowed turf.
I stand in the players race alongside Nick Meredith, Harrison King and Jake Sharp, three Tigers selected to play in the second practice match of the weekend, against Footscray.
They are looking forward to the challenge of playing the Bulldogs but all admit they would have loved to have played on the MCG. Who can blame them?
After warm-up, the players return to their Southern Stand changeroom for last-minute preparations.
Sherlock soon re-gathers his troops to lead them on to the ground but not before the GPS monitors inside the back of their jumpers are hastily switched on.
Statistics are a huge part of the game in this day and age and those devices can provide vital information for coaches on player work rates.
The players run out and the activity of the previous two hours ceases.
That means it’s time for me to hot foot it to a place I feel more comfortable – the press box high up on level three.
A makeshift commentary booth has been set up for the afl.com.au live feed and I hear the commentators talk about some of the up-and-coming stars of the game.
Six players from last year’s AFL Academy game played in round one of the 2016 AFL season, including prized No.1 draft pick Jacob Weitering.
There’s a fair chance this year’s top draft pick is playing in front of us.
The first half is competitive, with both Werribee and the AFL Academy enjoying decent patches of play.
The Tigers, surprisingly, trail by a point at half-time but there is no panic in the rooms.
The players are focused on keeping their energy stocks up on a warm evening, so they tuck into watermelon and grapes, as well as energy gels. They are summoned to coaches’ room for a short debrief of the first half and to look ahead to the second while the support staff devour the left-over fruit.
Half-time flies by and the players are ready to return to the field of battle, where they are greeted by a growing crowd as the Collingwood and Richmond fans start to arrive, creating some atmosphere in the big stadium.
I go back up to the press box but this time the commentary from the live feed is drowned out as journalists and commentators for the AFL match start to assemble.
They arrive just in time to see Werribee take command of the game with a six-goal third quarter.
The game ends up a blow-out as the physicality of the senior Tigers takes it’s toll on the AFL Academy players.
I am impressed by the brand of football the Tigers produced, from defence through to attack.
Declan Mountford, a North Melbourne-listed player, wins the MCC President’s Medal for best-on-ground for Werribee.
He notches up 21 possessions across half-forward. But this has been a game in which the Tigers have had fairly even contributions across the board. I have liked the games of Dane McFarlane, Joe Maishman, Ryan Clarke and Isaac Conway, each displaying a high work rate and never seeming to be too far away from the contest.
Livewire forward Ryley Barrack kicks three goals with a potential fourth slamming into the woodwork.
Jake Wilson puts himself in the shop window again with a typically strong performance at full-back, setting the tone for the match with a huge smother in the first quarter.
In attack, Sam Durdin (two goals) looks a find for the Tigers’ AFL affiliate, North Melbourne, but he may have to bide his time in the VFL due to the depth in the forward stocks at the Kangaroos.
It has been a good day for the bigs, with Ben McKay, drafted by the Roos last season, offering plenty of repeat leads across half-forward, local Western Jets product Quade Butt showing his mobility and ruckman Majak Daw proving too powerful in the air for the teens on the other side.
After Sherlock is presented with a winners’ trophy in front of the MCC members it is back to the rooms to celebrate a job well done.
The players are then ushered into the coaches’ room, where Lamont conveys his positive feelings to players and maps out the week ahead.
For the players, it is time to hit the showers before catching up with family and friends.
But for the support staff, it is back to work, with the clean-up certainly more imposing than the setting up.
The tireless work of the volunteers has been the most eye opening of my inner-sanctum experience. This is a semi-professional operation but game day could not have been run more efficiently and professionally.
Each individual has played their role within the team to give the players their best chance of succeeding on the day.
The pay-off for the hard work of the support staff is a 50-point Tigers win. The smiles on their faces are a fair indication they relish the victory just as much as the players.
