By Tara Murray
Before Mike Sheehan was gracing the pages of the Herald Sun and the television screens as one of the top football journalists, he was a budding footballer with the Werribee Football Club.
Sheehan was part of the Tigers first under-19 team in 1965.
While he was playing football on weekends, he was a journalist for the Werribee Banner, a predecessor to this paper.
He wasn’t afraid to throw some of his teammates under the bus.
“In fact, I was working for the Werribee Banner at the time, shitbagging the blokes who were playing in the seniors while I was playing in the under-19s,” he told the Big W podcast ahead of the club’s 60th anniversary celebrations,” he recalls.
“I could never work out why they wouldn’t want to talk to me in training on Thursday nights cause the paper had come out that day.”
Sheehan is one of three former players who shared their memories of the club on the Werribee podcast with Kevin Hillier.
The club will mark its 60th anniversary on June 15 at Club Tarneit. Seven people will be inducted into the club’s hall of fame and one person elevated to legend status.
Sheehan’s father Roy Sheehan had been an instrumental part and a driving force in the actual submission that got put to the Victorian Football Association for a team to come out of the Werribee area.
The team was cobbled together from four teams from the Werribee competition.
Sheehan still has a strong relationship with the club.
He said it was difficult at times writing about his club.
“But I was only 18, and I couldn’t work out what prompted me to do that, but I was pretty tough on a lot of the blokes who were, they were seven and eight and 10 years older than me.
“And I was having a crack at them about the way they played.”
Sheehan made his senior debut for the Tigers in 1967 and became player number 47 for the club.
One of Werribee’s most famous players is better known for his exploits on the cricket field.
Former Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes was a more than handy footballer as well.
Hughes was part of the Tigers lightning premiership win and played nearly 100 games for the club.
He trained with Geelong’s VFL (now AFL program) before earning his first chance at first class cricket.
“I played a bit of cricket down there,” he said. “I came back from Myrtleford … to do form five [year 11] and sort of signed up.
“Halfway through the season, they had a change of coaches, and Les Joslin came in to coach, and I virtually got plucked out of the thirds to, to play in the ones.
“And as a young bloke, I think 16 years old it was a, it was a bit of an eye opener, but played with some, some great footballers.”
Hughes is a life member of the Tigers and has been one of the club’s number one ticket holders since 1992.
Frank Lesiputty was one of the stars of the 1993 premiership side, which until last year was the club’s only premiership team.
Lesiputty played two games with Footscray in the VFL (now AFL) in 1987 before finding his way back to Werribee after a stint interstate.
Lesiputty recalled his memories of the grand final and his time at the club on the Big W podcast.
“I really enjoyed the social side of it. I thought that was, we were pretty good at that too, while playing footy.
“I came back from Adelaide and Leon Harris was coach and I was, I was super impressed.
“The club changed in that probably three-year period since I played a couple of games there before going to the Dogs and going to Adelaide
“I was living in Croydon and I think we’re out here now and and still traveling one hour and a half, two hours to get there, but that didn’t faze me because the, the enjoyment of being around that footy club is what sticks with me, and that’s why I still go back there today.
Lesiputty recalls the grand final which the Tigers won convincingly by 42 points against Port Melbourne being a fiery one.
Three Tigers players were reported while Dean Chrimes was reported four times for striking including striking Lesiputty twice.
Lesiputty said there were fears the game might be called off with the crowd coming onto the ground along with police.
“I’ve heard from different people that that was orchestrated to try and get the game called off, and you even speak to Donald [McDonald], Donald ran straight to the umpires and said, don’t call the game. That’s what he was concerned about.
“It was just mayhem in that last. I thought the game was over.”
To hear more memories from 60 years for Werribee Football CLub, tickers are still available for the ‘Then and Now’ function.
To listen to the whole podcast: tinyurl.com/3kaf6pc4
