The VFL has come down to a race in two, with Box Hill Hawks and Williamstown playing off in Sunday’s grand final at Etihad Stadium.
Werribee Tigers may be kicking themselves this week because they not only beat both grand finalists, they did the double over both.
The Tigers suffered a premature finals exit, but it didn’t detract from a regular season full of highlights.
Star Weekly looks back at the Tigers’ five best wins of the 2015 season …
Round 3
Beat Port Melbourne by 12 points
Werribee has endured a rough history against Port Melbourne at North Port Oval and the Borough was undoubtedly one of their bogey sides until this day.
The game will be remembered for a six-goal haul from Billy Iles, which lifted the Tigers to a stirring win.
Round 4
Beat Box Hill Hawks by five points
Werribee rode its luck in this one, making the most of its chances while the Hawks were wasteful in front of goal.
To win on the road against a powerhouse of the competition instilled a lot of confidence in the young Tigers side. Leading by 19 points at three-quarter time, the Tigers held off the fast-finishing Hawks on a day when ruckman Daniel Currie had 43 hitouts, eight tackles and seven marks.
Round 14
Beat Box Hill Hawks by 13 points
Werribee hit a flat patch in the middle of the season, losing four games in five, including two by less than a kick. Not only had the Tigers done irreparable damage to their top four hopes but their spot in the eight was coming under question.
By virtue of their scratchy form, the Tigers went into this one as underdogs but came away with a renewed hope after doing the double over the Hawks for the season.
Round 16
Beat Casey Scorpions by 13 points
Travelling to Cranbourne to face the Casey Scorpions is one of the longest trips in the league for Werribee, which is a good thing as it gave the Tigers players longer to savour a brilliant win on the drive home.
The early signs were not promising, with the Tigers going into the half-time break 26 points down. But an exhilarating seven-goal third quarter, one of their best for the season, turned the game on its head.
It kick-started a run of three tough away games for the Tigers, all of which they won to cement their spot in the finals.
Round 19
Beat Williamstown by 15 points
No matter where these two sides are positioned on the ladder, the western suburbs derby always has a little bit of extra spice and meaning to it.
It’s never easy for Werribee to venture to Burbank Oval and vice-versa for Williamstown.
So for the Tigers to pick up two wins, one at home and one away, against the Seagulls this season will go down as one of the favourite memories of Tigers fans in 2015.
On this occasion, the Tigers managed to win in the Seagulls’ nest in convincing fashion, registering a massive 15 more scoring shots.
